Direct Answer
American Express Company was founded on March 18, 1850, in Buffalo, New York, as an express mail and package delivery business by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield. The company pivoted toward financial services over the following decades, introducing the American Express Travelers Cheque in 1891 and launching its charge card on October 1, 1958. Kenneth Chenault, who led the company from 2001 to 2018, was the first Black chief executive of a Dow Jones Industrial Average component. Stephen Squeri has served as chief executive since 2018, leading AmEx through strong growth in premium card adoption among younger cardmembers.
Origins
American Express Company was founded on March 18, 1850, in Buffalo, New York, as an express mail, package, and freight delivery business. The three founders were Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield, who consolidated several competing regional express companies into a single entity. Henry Wells and William Fargo later co-founded Wells Fargo in 1852 as a separate company focused on express and banking services in California and the American West. American Express and Wells Fargo operated as distinct companies from that point forward, despite sharing two founders and the early express delivery heritage.
The company's pivot from physical delivery toward financial services began in the 1880s. James Congdell Fargo, son of William Fargo and president of American Express, was frustrated by his inability to cash personal letters of credit while traveling in Europe in the late 1880s. That experience led him to commission Marcellus Fleming Berry, an AmEx employee, to design a more practical solution for travelers carrying money across borders.
Key milestones
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 18, 1850 | American Express Company founded in Buffalo, New York, by Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield as an express mail and freight business |
| 1891 | American Express Travelers Cheque introduced; Marcellus Fleming Berry devised the countersignature security system that made the product practical for international travel |
| 1914 | American Express opens first travel office in Europe, initially in Hamburg, Germany; office relocates to London after World War I begins |
| 1915 | AmEx launches travel and tourism services, establishing its role as one of the earliest travel agencies serving American travelers abroad |
| 1946 | American Express offers its first charge card product for rail travel |
| October 1, 1958 | American Express charge card officially launched; the original card was purple and made of paper rather than plastic |
| 1963 | American Express International Banking Corporation established to expand banking operations overseas |
| 1966 | Gold Card introduced as a premium tier above the standard green card |
| 1984 | Platinum Card introduced, positioned as an ultra-premium product with expanded travel and lifestyle benefits |
| 1984 | James Robinson III leads AmEx to acquire Shearson/American Express as part of a financial services diversification strategy |
| 1987 | AmEx acquires E.F. Hutton, the brokerage firm |
| 1991 | Harvey Golub becomes chief executive; begins refocusing the company on its core card and travel businesses |
| 1993 | AmEx spins off its financial advisory and insurance operations, which later become Ameriprise Financial |
| 1994 | Shearson brokerage operations sold to Primerica/Smith Barney |
| 2000 | Kenneth Chenault becomes chief executive, the first Black chief executive of a Dow Jones Industrial Average component company |
| September 11, 2001 | The September 11 terrorist attacks heavily damage AmEx's offices at 3 World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan; the company provides emergency financial assistance to employees and clients |
| 2003 | Blue Card launched as AmEx's first card incorporating chip technology |
| 2008 | Financial crisis: AmEx becomes a bank holding company to access Federal Reserve lending facilities and receives $3.4 billion in TARP funds, which were repaid in 2009 |
| 2016 | Chase Sapphire Reserve launches as a direct premium competitor; AmEx responds by enhancing Platinum Card benefits |
| 2018 | Stephen Squeri becomes chief executive; Chenault retires after 17 years in the role |
| 2019 to 2022 | Digital wallet competition from Apple Pay and Google Pay accelerates; AmEx adapts by embedding cards in mobile wallets |
| 2022 to 2024 | Millennial and Gen Z cardmembers become the largest source of new Platinum and Gold card acquisitions, reversing the perception that AmEx premium products skewed older |
CEO timeline
| CEO | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Butterfield (founders) | 1850 to 1868 |
| William Fargo | 1868 to 1881 |
| Various executives | 1881 to 1914 |
| George Taylor | 1914 to 1923 |
| Various executives | 1923 to 1944 |
| Ralph Reed | 1944 to 1960 |
| Howard Clark | 1960 to 1977 |
| James Robinson III | 1977 to 1993 |
| Harvey Golub | 1993 to 2001 |
| Kenneth Chenault | 2001 to 2018 (first Black CEO of a Dow 30 company) |
| Stephen Squeri | 2018 to present |
Four eras of American Express history
Express and travel era (1850 to 1957)
American Express began as one of several competing express mail and package delivery businesses operating in the northeastern United States before the Civil War. The consolidation of Wells, Butterfield and Company with Livingston, Fargo and Company and Wells and Company created a network with the scale to compete against Adams Express and other regional operators. The company's move into financial services began incrementally: money orders and foreign exchange services preceded the traveler's check, which became the product that defined AmEx for the better part of a century. James Congdell Fargo commissioned Marcellus Fleming Berry to solve the problem of accessing funds abroad in the late 1880s. Berry's solution was the countersignature system: the purchaser signed the cheque at the point of purchase, then countersigned at the point of redemption in front of the paying merchant or bank. The two signatures needed to match, and the instrument carried a guaranteed face value regardless of which currency zone it was redeemed in. The American Express Travelers Cheque, introduced in 1891, sold 248 cheques in its first year. By the early twentieth century it was the leading instrument for carrying money abroad. The company also built a travel agency business starting in 1915, serving the large market of Americans traveling to Europe by steamship.
Card and financial services expansion (1958 to 1990)
The launch of the American Express charge card on October 1, 1958, positioned the company alongside Diners Club (1950) as one of the early general-purpose charge card issuers. Unlike bank credit cards such as BankAmericard, which launched the same year and allowed cardholders to carry a revolving balance, AmEx positioned its product as a charge card: the full balance was due each month, which reinforced an image of financial discipline and affluence. The original purple card was made of paper; plastic cards followed later. The Green Card became the standard product, with the Gold Card introduced in 1966 as a premium tier and the Platinum Card in 1984 as an ultra-premium tier with expanded travel benefits. Under James Robinson III, who became chief executive in 1977, American Express diversified aggressively through acquisitions including Shearson Loeb Rhoades in 1981, the Investors Diversified Services (IDS) financial advisory business in 1984, and E.F. Hutton in 1987. The strategy of building a financial supermarket ran into difficulties as the brokerage, insurance, and card businesses proved difficult to manage as a single entity.
Refocus and Kenneth Chenault era (1991 to 2017)
Harvey Golub, who became chief executive in 1991, began unwinding the diversification strategy. AmEx spun off its financial advisory and insurance operations in 1993 as what eventually became Ameriprise Financial. The Shearson brokerage operations were sold to Primerica/Smith Barney in 1994. Kenneth Chenault succeeded Golub in 2001 and became the first Black chief executive of a company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company's offices at 3 World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan were severely damaged in the September 11 attacks later that year; Chenault's response to the crisis, including emergency financial assistance to employees and clients, was widely cited as an example of effective leadership in a disaster. The 2008 financial crisis forced AmEx to become a bank holding company to access Federal Reserve lending facilities; the company received $3.4 billion in TARP funds and repaid them in 2009. The competitive landscape intensified significantly in 2016 when JPMorgan Chase launched the Sapphire Reserve card as a direct challenge to the Platinum Card, triggering a period of elevated rewards competition in the premium card segment.
Premium card growth and digital era (2018 to present)
Stephen Squeri became chief executive in February 2018. His tenure has been defined by sustained growth in premium card acquisitions, particularly among younger cardmembers. Millennial and Gen Z cardmembers became the largest cohort of new Platinum and Gold card holders by the early 2020s, reversing the prior perception that AmEx premium products were used primarily by older professionals. The company expanded the lifestyle and dining benefits on its premium cards, including credits for streaming services, dining, and entertainment, alongside the core travel and airport lounge access that defined the earlier Platinum Card. AmEx embedded its cards in Apple Pay and Google Pay as mobile wallets became the primary payment interface for many consumers. The company's closed-loop network, in which AmEx serves as both card issuer and payment network for a significant portion of its volume, continued to give it differentiated data on cardholder spending compared with open-loop networks like Visa and Mastercard.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was American Express founded?
American Express Company was founded on March 18, 1850, in Buffalo, New York, as an express mail and freight delivery business. The founders were Henry Wells, William Fargo, and John Butterfield. Henry Wells and William Fargo later co-founded Wells Fargo in 1852 as a separate Western-focused express and banking company.
When did American Express launch its credit card?
American Express launched its charge card on October 1, 1958. The original card was purple and made of paper, not plastic. It was one of the earliest general-purpose charge cards in the United States, arriving the same year as BankAmericard (later Visa) but positioned as a travel and entertainment card requiring full monthly payment rather than a revolving credit product.
Who was Kenneth Chenault and what was his significance?
Kenneth Chenault served as chief executive of American Express from 2001 to 2018. He was the first Black chief executive of a company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a milestone in U.S. corporate history. Chenault led AmEx through the September 11 attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and a period of renewed focus on premium cardmember benefits. He retired in 2018 and was succeeded by Stephen Squeri.
What is the American Express traveler's check?
The American Express Travelers Cheque, introduced in 1891, was a prepaid instrument designed to give travelers access to funds abroad without carrying cash or relying on personal checks that could not be cashed internationally. Marcellus Fleming Berry, an AmEx employee, devised the countersignature security system: the purchaser signed the cheque at issuance and countersigned it again at the point of redemption, making forgery significantly harder. The product made American Express a dominant force in travel finance for nearly a century.