American Express reaches 190 million merchant locations

American Express announced on September 28, 2026, that its cards are now accepted at more than 190 million merchant locations worldwide. The total reflects an increase of approximately 20 million locations this year, while the number of accepting merchant locations outside the United States has more than doubled over the past four years.

The estimate includes about 80 million merchants in China and Brazil, including those reached through digital wallets. The expansion has been supported by partnerships with global platforms like Adyen, digital wallets such as Alipay in China, and regional partners including Mercado Pago in Mexico and Argentina as well as Dojo in the United Kingdom.

Since 2021, the company doubled its accepting locations in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, tripled them across Europe, and quadrupled them in Singapore. American Express has also achieved double-digit growth in international restaurant acceptance, full coverage across major European airlines, acceptance at most four- and five-star hotels globally, and integration across roughly 800 or more transit authorities worldwide.

In the United States, American Express has maintained acceptance parity at 99% of places that take credit cards since the end of 2019. The company noted that average annual spending on its cards in the country was three times that of competing networks in 2025.