The news: American Express partnered with spend management specialist PayEm to give business customers more ways to manage their spending, according to a press release.

Here's how it works:

• Amex Corporate and Business Card members can use PayEm's Spend Management Platform to give staff virtual cards for business payments.
• Cardmembers can also use automated reimbursement filings, create spend controls, and earn rewards on purchases with their virtual cards.

Why it’s worth watching:

1. The demand is there. The global spend management platform market was valued at $15.9 billion in 2021, per Grand View Research, and it’s expected to grow 10% compounded annually from 2022 to 2030. Spend management tech is critical for small businesses because it provides visibility into their cash flow and helps them measure financial performance.
2. Economic uncertainty can drive interest. More companies are seeking out expense management products to control costs amid hot inflation and recession fears: 74% of SMBs reported cash-flow problems in the previous year, per a May 2022 Fundbox survey. All-in-one solutions can make cash-flow planning easier and more efficient so staff can devote more time to value-adding activities.
3. There are financial benefits. Amex and other providers can use spend management platforms to drive customer acquisition, improve retention, and diversify revenues. Putting more payment and budgeting tools on one platform also creates cross-selling opportunities.

The bigger picture: Amex is focusing on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and its tie-in with PayEm makes its offering more appealing to prospective customers. That should generate an acquisition pipeline that could lead to longer-term customer relationships.

Dig deeper: Check out our Small-Business Payment Disruptors 2023 report to learn why firms are turning to all-in-one platforms and how payment providers should develop them.

This article originally appeared in Insider Intelligence's Payments Innovation Briefing—a daily recap of top stories reshaping the payments industry. Subscribe to have more hard-hitting takeaways delivered to your inbox daily.

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