American Express Shrugs as BNPL Pressure Mounts for Credit Card Issuers

American Express believes that it is immune to losing market share to BNPL providers. Buy now, pay later solutions continue to make inroads with consumers, taking purchase volume away from other methods of payment, including credit cards. 

But recent comments from Christophe Le Caillec, Chief Financial Officer at American Express, indicate that not all credit card issuers have the same problems keeping them awake at night, according to a report from Payments Dive.

“We looked at the demographics of the population that is using buy now, pay later,” Le Caillec said while speaking on a panel at a payments conference in New York. “This is not our population.”

Those remarks likely caught the attention of executives at credit card companies across the U.S. 

Buy now, pay later programs are big business in 2025, and they have room yet to grow. A recent analysis of the global BNPL industry forecasts that the market will grow 13.7% this year, to reach $560 billion. 

The market for BNPL may top $900 billion by the end of 2030.

The same study predicts the market will surpass $900 billion by the time 2030 draws to a close.

Payments prognosticators need only look to recent actions from Klarna for additional evidence of BNPL’s potential for growth. The company, which offers consumers flexible payment plans they can access without fees, recently agreed to sell more than $6 billion in loans to fund the expansion of its BNPL programs in the U.S. 

Many mass-market issuers may have their hands full developing plans to counter the rising popularity of BNPL services. But the economic status of American Express’s cardholders may shield the company from losing market share to BNPL providers.

A recent report indicates that people who own an American Express Platinum card have an average household income of $400,000 per year. In 2024, the U.S. median household income was $83,730.

Nigel Morris, who co-founded Capital One Financial Services in the 1990s and is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of QED Investors, is an investor in Klarna and other BNPL outfits. 

Speaking at a summit in Lisbon earlier this month, Morris gave his opinion about consumers turning to BNPL services to buy essential items such as groceries.

“I think this is a very clear sign that many people are facing difficulties,” Morris said.

The latest version of the American Express Platinum card carries an annual fee of $895.

American Express rolled out a new version of its Platinum card for consumers earlier this year that comes with a plethora of premium benefits and an annual fee of $895. People who are willing to pay that fee each year may not be worried about the cost of groceries and the problems that BNPL solutions can help them solve.

Not every credit card issuer can match American Express when it comes to high-end rewards.

But issuers that desire to differentiate their products from those offered by BNPL providers can craft marketing messages that point to other card benefits, including opportunities to build credit, which may appeal to consumers who are trying to improve their financial situation.