Your Amex payment now processes instantly — here’s why it matters
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If you’ve ever made a card payment online, you’ll know there may often be a lag while the issuer processes it. With many card companies, you’ll make a payment, money funnels out of your bank account yet you see no change to your card’s balance until days later.
Recently, however, Amex has updated its systems to now reflect balances and available credit immediately upon making a payment. An Amex spokesperson confirmed this. “U.S. Consumer and small business accounts are now updated in real-time upon submission of a payment.”
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To the cardholder, this is a substantial development for a few reasons. First, it’s a mental shift — and a positive one, at that — to see your bill payment and balance show immediately.
It also eliminates the risk of accidentally paying the same bill again. Finally, it should instantly free up your credit line to make more purchases. Some individuals and businesses need to make large purchases continuously, so this should help in that regard.
Related: Amex’s ‘Please Pay By’ date isn’t the same as your payment due date
Earlier this week, I tested this out with a payment on my American Express® Gold Card.
After selecting to pay off my total balance and hitting “Make a Payment,” I was sent to this confirmation screen that mentioned my account balances would be updated shortly.
Related: Does it hurt to pay off your credit card balance before the billing cycle ends?
Sure enough, when I went back to the home page of my Amex account, the total balance reflected $0.00 immediately. In the past, this took a couple of days to change.
Bottom line
A more responsive payment platform is great news for cardholders. It’s not particularly common for cardholders to see instantly updated balance and available credit information.
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However, if you make an internal payment with a bank account that is the same company as the card issuer, that may be reflected immediately. This has happened for my Chase cards while using a Chase checking account to pay. Additionally, the Apple Card has instant payment functionality.
With that said, this is a modest yet pleasant change from Amex and one that affects both personal and small business credit cards.
Featured photo by MStudioImages/Getty Images
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