American Express to acquire Center for enhanced expense management

American Express has announced an agreement to purchase Center, a company that develops software aimed at modernising the management of expenses.

The financial terms of this deal have not been revealed.

This acquisition is intended to bolster American Express’s corporate and small business card offerings by incorporating Center’s sophisticated software solutions.

Center’s platform is engineered to simplify expense management processes by offering businesses real-time insights into employee spending, automating accounting procedures, and streamlining the submission and reporting of expenses.

The software equips finance teams with tools essential for making informed decisions. This enhances value throughout the commercial card payment process, from premium card choices and rewards to seamless accounting and reconciliation, said American Express.

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Center offers an integrated solution that updates corporate card, travel, and employee expense management. Its service grants businesses comprehensive visibility over employee expenditures, automates manual tasks, and facilitates travel booking and expensing.

With a business model based on usage that requires no initial investment, Center focuses on customer success through configurable self-service options and efficient deployment.

By integrating its card services with Center’s expense management capabilities, American Express aims to offer customers efficient expense management through a mobile-friendly application. This integration also seeks to automate tasks, enabling finance teams to significantly cut down on time spent reviewing and posting expenses.

American Express projects that this acquisition will assist businesses in ensuring compliance with expenditure policies while maximising the benefits from their card programmes.

The transaction is expected to be completed by Q2 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

In late 2024, Center launched the ‘Insights for Travel’ dashboards within its travel and expense solution that provide a complete view of travel expenditures. This feature enhances Center’s travel management capabilities within its card-centric framework.