Travel and entertainment (T&E) spending by card company American Express¡¯ international corporate customers increased by 19 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 as spending outside the US picked up pace.

Amex said that T&E globally, including both corporate and consumer spending, rose by 14 per cent year-on-year in Q2, with total international T&E up by 23 per cent to $25 billion over this period.?

The higher rate of increase in international corporate and SME expenditure compares with just a 2 per cent year-on-year increase in spending for both US-based SMEs and large corporates during Q2.

Amex chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri said in an earnings call that international spending had ¡°come back even a little quicker than we had thought within our three-year horizon¡±.

International SME and large corporate spending accounts for 7 per cent of Amex's overall business, while large corporate businesses in the US represent 5 per cent of all sales and US-based SMEs make up 25 per cent of total volumes.

Squeri said that large US corporate business was ¡°crawling its way back¡± as companies continue to work to bring employees back to the office.

¡°What you're seeing a little bit less of is those one-stop trips, that quick hop to London to meet with one client or that quick sort of run across the country to have an internal meeting,¡± added Squeri.

¡°I think that will continue to come back. We continue to be aggressive at retaining those customers and aggressive acquiring new customers, but I think that's going to be slower.¡±

Total network volume for Amex increased 8 per cent year-on-year to $426.6 billion in Q2, which was a record high for the company. Amex reported net profit of $2.17 billion for the quarter, up by 11 per cent on Q2 of 2022.