AmEx Corporate Card Users: No Apple Pay for You

Woe is me.

I had a busy day yesterday, the day of the Apple Pay launch, and I’m just now getting around to adding a couple select credit cards to my iPhone 6’s Passbook app, so I can try out the new mobile payments system.

I added my CapitalOne personal credit card without issue, but apparently, Apple Pay does not like American Express Corporate Cards, because I was swiftly denied when I tried to add my business AmEx. (In fact, AmEx’s Apple Pay page clearly states, “American Express Corporate Cards are not eligible,” albeit in very small print.

That’s unfortunate for frequent travelers who were hoping to use their iPhones for payments while on the road. AmEx Corporate Cards are widely used by many business travelers. I swipe my corporate card in some random and sometimes questionable places, and it would have been nice to take advantage of the new security safeguards provided by Apple Pay — namely, the benefit of never letting your card out of your sight. (Apple Pay does support other personal and small business AmEx cards.)

The list of retailers that support Apple Pay is extremely limited. (Apple said 220,000 retailers support the technology at launch.) Apple Pay is also only available in the United States right now. But as adoption expands, its value to travelers could rapidly increase. I know I’d love to be able to pay for my seemingly endless array of cab rides with my phone.

AS