American Express OptBlue Program: How It Saves Merchants Money

American Express has historically been the most expensive card network for merchants, with rates significantly higher than Visa and Mastercard. The OptBlue program, launched in 2015, changed this dynamic for small and mid-sized businesses by allowing third-party processors to set their own rates for Amex transactions.

How OptBlue Works

Before OptBlue, merchants who accepted American Express had a direct relationship with Amex and paid Amex-set discount rates (typically 3.0% to 3.5%). With OptBlue, your payment processor handles Amex transactions just like Visa and Mastercard, and the processing rates are set by your processor — not by American Express.

Cost Savings with OptBlue

Under OptBlue, Amex interchange rates are competitive with premium Visa and Mastercard rates. For many merchants, OptBlue has reduced Amex acceptance costs by 0.30% to 1.00% per transaction compared to the old direct model. This makes accepting Amex much more affordable.

Eligibility

OptBlue is available to merchants processing less than $1 million per year in American Express transactions. Merchants above this threshold continue to work with Amex directly under the Enterprise program.

Why Accept American Express

• Amex cardholders tend to spend 2-3x more per transaction than Visa/Mastercard users
• Refusing Amex turns away high-spending customers
• With OptBlue, the cost difference is minimal compared to premium Visa cards

Mogil Partners ensures our clients are set up on the OptBlue program with competitive Amex rates. Contact us to optimize your American Express acceptance.