Connect an American Express Card Program to Emburse Spend

The Card Programs feature allows admins to invite American Express® card users to integrate their corporate or business cards with Emburse Spend. This gives your organization increased control, enhanced visibility, automatic reconciliations, and real-time insights into spending and expense management.

American Express Card Program Types

American Express offers two main card program types that can be connected to Emburse Spend:

• American Express Business Cards
• American Express Corporate Cards

Business cards can be connected directly through Emburse Spend, while corporate cards require additional paperwork coordinated with American Express.

Additionally, you can choose to enroll your American Express Business or Corporate card in a virtual card program, which enables pre-approved spending controls to reinforce company spend policy.

Understanding your program type helps ensure a successful setup and synchronization process.

Connect an American Express Business Card Program

American Express Business Cards display the word BUSINESS on the front. Common programs include Business Platinum, Gold Business, Blue Business, and Plum.

Connecting your American Express Business Card Program links your transaction history to Emburse Spend. An admin may enroll in multiple American Express Card Programs. All of them will be displayed on the Card Programs screen.

To connect your Business Card Program:

1. Go to Company Settings → Card Programs.
2. Select Add Card Program.
   
3. Select the American Express tile and choose Import Business card transactions.
   
4. When prompted, enter the account owner's Manage Your Card Account (MYCA) User ID and Password.
   • Make sure you are using the credentials that the account owner uses to log in to the Cards and Banking features. These credentials may differ from the American Express @ Work login.
   • Having the primary cardholder or an authorized account manager on hand will streamline the set-up process. Otherwise, they will be notified via email to approve the enrollment, which can cause delays.

5. Enter the Card Number and Card ID for the American Express card you want to connect.

6. After authorization, Emburse Spend displays a success message confirming the connection.

Return to Emburse Spend and confirm that the new card program appears under Card Programs in Company Settings.

Connect an American Express Corporate Card Program

American Express Corporate Cards display the word CORPORATE on the front. Common programs include Corporate Green, Corporate Gold, and Corporate Platinum. Connecting a Corporate Card Program imports transaction data into Emburse Spend through a secure data feed.

What to Expect

• Connection Method: Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) feed

• Setup Time: Approximately 10 business days after American Express receives completed enrollment forms

• Who This Is For: Emburse Spend administrators setting up a corporate card program

Required Documents

Before you begin, download and review the following American Express enrollment forms:

• Guide to Completing American Express Forms (US, Canada, and International) 

• American Express Global Data Transfer Form

• Emburse Spend Implementation Form

Submit Enrollment Forms to American Express

As the Emburse Spend administrator, you are responsible for completing and submitting all required American Express enrollment forms.

1. Review the required American Express documents listed above.

2. Complete all required forms. Specify which Master Card Accounts (MCAs) or Basic Card Accounts (BCAs) you want to connect. If you are unsure which accounts to include, contact American Express directly to confirm the correct information.

3. Email the completed forms directly to American Express at electronic.transmissions.team@aexp.com.

American Express reviews the submitted forms and initiates the setup of the corporate card data feed.

What Happens Next

• After American Express activates the corporate card feed, transaction data is sent to Emburse Spend.
• Emburse Spend Support contacts the person who submitted the forms to confirm which MCAs or BCAs to connect. This person must be an administrator in Emburse Spend.

Once the data feed is connected, you can view all transaction data sent by American Express. If you need historical transaction data, contact American Express directly to request it.

For next steps, see Assign Individual Cards to Users and Sync Your American Express Card Feed to Your Accounting System, below.

Enroll in the American Express Virtual Card Program

Administrators can also enroll in the American Express Virtual Card Program to issue and manage virtual credit cards directly in Emburse Spend. This enables pre-approved spending controls, enforces company policy, and provides real-time visibility.

See Enroll in and Manage Your Amex Virtual Card Program for complete details.

Assign Individual Cards to Users

After connecting your American Express Card Program, assign each card to the respective user. If your users are not yet set up in Emburse Spend, come back to this step once their emails have been added to the system. To assign the cards:

1. Go to Admin → Team Cards.
2. Find the relevant card and select the pencil icon.
   
3. In the Assign Cardholder field, select the correct user from the dropdown list.
   
4. Select Save.

Assigned cards and transactions appear automatically in each user's account.

Reauthorize Your Connection

For security, American Express requires reauthentication every 365 days. Twice a week, Emburse Spend notifies administrators by email if a connection expires.

To reauthorize:

1. Select the icon to open Company Settings.
2. Go to Card Programs.
3. Select Re-connect your card for the affected program.
   
4. Follow the prompts to reauthorize.

A success message confirms reconnection once authorization is complete.

Sync Your American Express Card Feed to Your Accounting System

Transactions will now sync automatically to your accounting system based on your selected integration method.

To connect your card feed to your accounting platform, see How to sync corporate card expenses to your accounting software.

• Guide to Complete American Express Forms - US, Canada & International.pdf400 KB
• Emburse Spend Implementation Form American Express.DOCX30 KB
• Global Data Transfer Form American Express.pdf500 KB