American Express Serve® Announces Research Pilot to Encourage Consumer Saving
December 12 2014 - 2:37PM
Business Wire
Research Pilot Will Examine New Ways to Promote
Consumer Saving Behavior with American Express Serve
American Express (NYSE:AXP) today announced that it is kicking
off a research pilot to study consumer savings behaviors using the
Serve software platform. This research pilot can help identify new
ways to promote saving and explore whether certain behavioral
interventions are effective in increasing consumer savings. This
program will also help inform research at the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the U.S. government agency
charged with making financial markets work for American consumers,
to better understand how to promote saving among consumers.
Research shows that many Americans, particularly those who are
underserved, do not have sufficient savings to buffer them from
common emergencies. According to a new study from the Center for
Financial Services Innovation and American Express, more than forty
percent of Americans describe themselves as struggling to pay bills
and credit payments, and more than one fifth have no idea how long
they could make ends meet in the event of a job loss1. One of the
reasons for this is that many families experience an
unpredictability of funds coming and going. Pay days may not be
regular, especially when working more than one job or freelancing,
and expenses related to auto repairs, illness, or home repairs for
common issues like a broken heater can come up unexpectedly.
Establishing a savings buffer could benefit consumers by providing
liquidity and making them less reliant on high cost borrowing.
“Rarely do researchers have the opportunity to test their
theories in real world environments, using actual financial
products, and directly with their target customers,” said Neal
Sample, President, Enterprise Growth, American Express. “We see
tremendous potential in enabling researchers to use our Serve
software platform to improve the lives of the financially
underserved. This is why we established our Financial Innovation
Lab, and it’s why we are pleased to be working on this research
pilot.”
The research pilot will be conducted using the American Express
Serve software platform. American Express Serve is a full service
reloadable prepaid account, which can help provide an alternative
to traditional banking services. Serve has a $1 monthly fee, which
can be waived for customers who use Direct Deposit to have their
paycheck automatically added to their Serve account or by adding
$500 during a monthly statement period2. Transactions at
non-MoneyPass® ATMs have a $2.50 American Express Serve fee3 and
Serve has a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% on each
transaction4.
Both American Express Serve and Bluebird from American Express
feature Reserve and SetAside respectively. The Reserve and SetAside
features allow customers to set aside money in support of their
financial goals. Customers who use these linked accounts are
putting away more than twenty-five percent of the money they add to
their primary accounts each month into a SetAside or Reserve
account. They are transferring money into SetAside or Reserve an
average of three times a month, and they are using this money for
emergency funds or large purchases.
Sample added, “From the start, our priority has been to provide
consumers with easy access to money management tools. Over the next
several months, this research will help us better understand what
triggers can drive measureable savings behavior-- which is
differentiated from most savings research, which is often based on
self-reported behavior.”
American Express is conducting the research pilot and will be
testing several marketing treatments on the Serve platform to
encourage savings. American Express has agreed to share insights
with the CFPB from the pilot to inform the agency’s work. The
information shared by American Express with the CFPB will be
de-identified, and appropriate precautions will be taken to ensure
that individual consumers cannot be identified through the data.
This research is part of the CFPB’s Project Catalyst initiative,
which was created by the agency to encourage consumer-friendly
developments in markets for consumer financial products and
services.
More information about the CFPB’s Project
Catalyst will be available at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/projectcatalyst/
About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing
customers with access to products, insights and experiences that
enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at
americanexpress.com and connect with us on
facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress,
linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products and services: charge and credit cards,
business credit cards, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards,
merchant services, business travel, and corporate card.
1 The Consumer Financial Health Study is a nationally
representative survey designed to increase understanding of the
interplay among indicators of financial health, consumers’ use of a
range of financial products and services, and consumers’ attitudes
and preferences.
2There is no monthly fee in NY, TX and VT. Receiving money from
another Accountholder does not count toward the $500 load
amount.
3ATM operator fees may also apply. See serve.com/atm for
details.
4After conversion to US dollars.
American ExpressFelicia Mowll, 212-640-1709
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