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OPEN from American Express® and Harris Announce Strategic Card Relationship to Help Serve Small Business Customers


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OPEN from American Express to Issue Small Business Charge and Credit Cards in Harris’ More than 230 Branches

NEW YORK and CHICAGO.- OPEN from American Express® and Harris announced today that they will offer American Express® Business Cards to Harris’ small business customers, marking OPEN’s first agent bank marketing agreement in the Chicago area. The exclusive agreement calls for the companies to jointly market small business charge and credit cards that carry the Harris and American Express brands. Beginning in late September, OPEN will offer a suite of co-branded Cards through Harris’ more than 230 branches in Chicago and Indiana.

“Harris is a respected and well-known financial institution with an impressive customer base and we are pleased to serve as their new, exclusive small business credit card issuer,” said Raymond Joabar, Senior Vice President, OPEN from American Express. “This new relationship brings together the strength of OPEN and Harris to link small business owners with the financial tools and resources they need to help them grow their businesses.”

“We are delighted to join with American Express to add the industry-leading small business credit card solution to our robust customer offering of products and services,” said Peter McNitt, Vice Chairman and Head of Business Banking, Harris. “In addition to the benefits a business credit card offers in terms of simplifying accounting, I know our customers will appreciate the purchasing power, payment flexibility, cash rebates, travel rewards and savings program that only OPEN offers.”

Through Harris, small business owners are eligible to apply for the SimplyCash(SM) Business Card(1), which automatically offers up to 5% cash back annually on gas, office supplies, and wireless purchases and 1% on virtually all other purchases. In addition, they can apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card and Business Platinum Card®, which offer Cardmembers automatic enrollment in the Membership Rewards® program(2) from American Express to earn valuable rewards points toward travel, dining, entertainment and retail purchases. All three Cards include access to the OPEN Savings® program(3), which gives Cardmembers automatic savings when using their Card for purchases with partners such as FedExKinkos®, Hertz®, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts®, Delta Airlines®, JetBlue Airways® and more.

Under the agreement, OPEN from American Express will issue the new Cards and service the accounts. Harris and OPEN will market the Cards to small business owners through the bank’s branch network, on-line, direct mail, and inbound telemarketing channels.

OPEN is a leading issuer of small business credit and charge card products in the United States. With $42 billion in assets and $29 billion in deposits, Harris is the second-largest bank based on branches in the Chicago market. Additionally, Harris has affiliated wealth management offices in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Washington, and will also offer the cards in those locations.



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