American Express and small business go together like cash and flow, though nobody knew it. Historically, the American Express Corporate Card was the Card for businesses, large or small. Quite ironic given the fact that many small business owners had run away from big corporations to start their own businesses. In the end the corporate card stayed just that: a card.

Meanwhile, American Express had plenty to offer small business. For one, they are uniquely positioned to be more nimble and faster than banks, responding to the needs of this tough consumer group. For another, they act themselves like a small business. They runs 24/7/365, have a website that tracks spending on a daily basis and so on; just like a small business. The pitch was started by not just looking at the card as a piece of plastic, but more at how American Express could be positioned against small businesses biggest partners: the banks. Jeroen Bours recalls sitting in his office on a Sunday afternoon calling the banks, but they were all closed. This led to the name and premise for OPEN. This led to wanting to be bigger and more important in the small business owners’ life. This led to giving the card the product structure it deserved.