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American Express Payment Processing

Adyen's American Express Activation Process and what you need to know.

Updated over a week ago

Why would you need American Express?

American Express is one of the many global payment providers that can be used with our Adyen platform. The benefits of activating this provider is that it enables clients to purchase their memories with one of the largest credit card suppliers.

STEPS:

  1. Find which one of the 3 American Express contract options would be most suitable for your venue/company.

  2. No Contract

  3. Payment Designator Contract

  4. Gateway Contract

  5. Additional Help or Information

1. Find the most suitable American Express Contract type:

American Express has 3 different types of contract types for Adyen users to choose from. They all determine how money flows into and out of the business and also affect processing fees. The three options are:

  • No Contract

  • Payment Gateway Designator

  • Gateway Contract

Below all options are explained in more detail and how they affect your business.

2. Option 1: No Contract

In this case, you have a direct pricing contract with Adyen, meaning that Adyen takes care of the technical connection, funds settlement, settlement reporting, and the payments capture and authorization.

3. Option 2: Payment Designator Contract

American Express pays Adyen the funds directly, and Adyen then takes care of the payments authorization, funds capture, settlement reporting, and funds settlement. Contract and pricing are set up between you and American Express, meaning that American Express provides you with the MID. Adyen is not involved in this process.


When configuring a Payment Designator MID, Adyen's system will automatically penny-test the MID. If the penny test is successful, the American Express connection will automatically activate. This can take up to 10 business days. If the penny test fails, we will contact Amex and retry it. You can find the penny test’s status on the Payment Methods page in your Customer Area.

4. Option 3: Gateway Contract

Adyen only provides a technical implementation, taking care of the authorization of payments and capture of funds. Adyen don’t receive status updates on the money flow, and are therefore unable to verify or report on the cost associated with the processing. Contract, pricing, settlement reporting, and funds settlement are all handled between you and Amex, meaning that Amex provides you with the MID. Adyen is not involved in this process.

5. Additional Help and Information

If you need any more information or help setting up your American Express please contact: gino@gophoto.nl

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