American Express

New York -- American Express Serve announced a free nationwide cash load network and the addition of new money management capabilities to its full-service reloadable prepaid account. The new features enable Serve customers to load cash for free at more Than 14,000 participating CVS/pharmacy and 7-Eleven stores

The new features include: direct deposit, bill pay, mobile check capture, and personal financial management tools. These enhancements are designed to meet the needs of the nearly 70 million Americans underserved by traditional financial services.

New York – XO Group Inc., parent company of wedding/baby-themed e-commerce brands such as The Knot, The Bump and ijie.com, has named Michael Steib president, effective July 1. Steib most recently served as CEO of Vente-Privee USA, an e-commerce venture backed by American Express, and also held digital executive positions at companies including Google and NBC Universal.

By Rana K. Williamson, PhD, Better Merchant Accounts

New York -- American Express and Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that they are expanding their reloadable prepaid card program, Bluebird, to include direct-deposit capabilities for government checks.

Who needs a bank? Walmart and American Express have added a host of capabilities to the Bluebird financial service product they introduced last year as an alternative to debit and checking accounts.

Waban, Mass. -- Research results released Monday by Temkin revealed that, based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, American Express and USAA earned the top spots in the credit card sector.

According to the 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings, HSBC was the lowest rated credit card issuer for the third consecutive year.

"USAA and American Express set the pace for customer experience in credit cards while HSBC is a real black sheep in the industry," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner, Temkin Group.

New York -- Award results released Wednesday by international think-tank Ethisphere Institute listed Whole Foods, OfficeMax and Target among the World’ Most Ethical Companies.

The institute reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries. Selection is based on a review of codes of ethics; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers.

New York — American Express has launched a new venture with Twitter, that could lead to a whole new category of shopping.