Amex expands Pay Over Time auto-enrollment to business Green, Gold and Platinum cards

If you’re a small business^[1] owner with select American Express cards^[2], you may have heard of Pay Over Time, which lets you opt in to carry a balance on eligible purchases of $100 or more with interest.

This benefit is meant to provide more payment flexibility, and soon new and existing American Express Green^[3], Gold^[4] and Platinum^[5] business card members will be auto-enrolled for the feature. Auto-enrollment will take place at the start of their November billing cycles.

While Amex is traditionally known for their pay-in-full charge card model, the company is making adjustments to their card lineup to accommodate the changing needs of business owners.

“We’ve long heard from our card members who are small business owners that increased payment flexibility is important to them. This is especially critical during these times of uncertainty,” Brett Sussman, Vice President of global commercial card lending at American Express, said in a press release^[6].

American Express has seen 55% of existing business card members choose to enroll in Pay Over Time, predominately to increase inventory for busy seasons, buy in bulk for a discount or help with cash flow.

Pay Over Time is a buy now, pay later feature that applies to purchases of $100 or more. Amex states that annual fees, cash advances^[7], including cash and other cash equivalents, certain insurance premiums and any other fees owed to American Express are not eligible for Pay Over Time.

Purchases that are added to Pay Over Time incur interest beginning on the date you make the transaction. (Refer to your card member agreement or online account for the APR^[8].) However, you can avoid interest by paying your Total New Balance in full by your payment due date.

While your card has no preset spending limit, there is a Pay Over Time limit that acts like a traditional credit limit. (You’ll find your limit in your card member agreement or online account.) You won’t be able to carry any balances exceeding your Pay Over Time limit.