specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: American Express
providerId: american-express
publisherName: American Express Company
serviceCategory: Payments
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Credit Cards
  - Financial Services
  - Payments
  - Tokenization
  - Fraud Prevention
  - Rewards
  - Banking
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps scaffold for American Express developer APIs. Amex bills via the merchant discount rate and interchange + acquirer fees rather than a stand-alone metered API. FOCUS columns describe the payment-processing shape; specific meters remain conceptual until Amex publishes per-API billing.
notes: >-
  American Express developer APIs (Token Service / AETS, Enhanced Authorization, Account & Transaction) are partner-only. Access requires a merchant or issuing-partner agreement; pricing is embedded in the merchant discount rate / interchange and acquirer fees rather than a stand-alone API price. Rate limits and SLAs are governed per-contract and not published publicly. Reconcile if Amex publishes a public price list or rate-limit page.
sources:
  - https://developer.americanexpress.com/
  - https://developer.americanexpress.com/products/amex-token-service/overview
  - https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Enterprise / Bilateral
  billingFrequency: Per-Contract
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Purchase
    - Usage
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: American Express Developer APIs
  ServiceCategory: Payments
  ProviderName: American Express
  PublisherName: American Express Company
  InvoiceIssuerName: American Express Company
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
meters:
  - name: contracted_engagement
    description: >-
      Placeholder meter for engagements settled outside a metered API. Real
      meters cannot be enumerated until American Express publishes a metered
      API billing surface.
    unit: varies
    aggregation: sum
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: >-
      Without a public usage API, consumers must rely on contract reporting,
      invoice line items, and any tenant dashboards provided under the
      partner agreement.
  - name: Allocation
    description: >-
      Allocate spend by purchase order, contract identifier, or business unit
      receiving the American Express service. Tag at the procurement layer, not
      the API call layer.
  - name: Optimization
    description: >-
      Optimization levers live in commercial negotiation (volume commitments,
      term length, scope) rather than in API-level caching or throttling.
  - name: Accountability
    description: >-
      Procurement and the business owner of the American Express relationship own
      the spend; finance reviews invoice lines on the contract cadence.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com