Is AmEx about to lower the boom on cardholders?

From an interview with AmEx CEO, Kenneth Chenault, in the current issue of Fortune Magazine:

We’re doing a “back to the future” on the charge card. That’s our pay-in-full product at the end of 30 days. Consumers want discipline, and if we can bring that discipline of paying in full at the end of the month along with the service levels that we provide, plus the rewards and other programs we have, we think that’s a tremendous opportunity for us to grow.

Yes, it would be a tremendous opportunity for AmEx to grow, but what about small business? What about all those “Shine a Light” brick and mortars that have been so highly touted in the recent AmEx/Universal advertising campaign? What about you and your business?

And who, exactly, is going to be tickled pink about their credit card company taking the role of disciplinarian on their behalf? (Admittedly, that second sentence in the above quote really has me stymied.)

Independent retailers have been pushed toward plastic the past several years…and not entirely of their choosing (see tomorrow’s post about how this trip down the rabbit hole started). The economic slow down that began fourth quarter 2007 has had a pronounced impact on the number of businesses capable of paying off their total balance at month’s end. Truth be told, I can’t name even one.

That’s not to say they’re taking advantage or trying to skirt responsibility; the ones I speak to daily are more concerned and determined than ever when it comes to meeting their financial obligations, come hell or high water. They’re passing on their own salaries and cutting back staff to be sure all the other ends meet.

So what happens when their credit card-—the one that promised to support small business-—shifts to “Pay up or go home?” Granted, I’m reading between the lines here, but Mr. Chenault’s words sure make it appear the days of revolving credit are quickly coming to an end.

If, in fact, that’s true, and your AmEx statement is about to arrive with a “pay in full” notation, now’s the time to start shopping around for a new option. Don’t wait until they come knocking on your door (or freeze your account); jump into high gear now, checking out all available options from the competition. Don’t run the risk that suddenly, without warning, vendors will be calling to tell you they got a decline on your card, leaving you no place else to turn.

Is this a healthy move for AmEx? You bet. The customers who didn’t jump ship when offered $300 each to shut down their accounts several months ago will undoubtedly be at risk during this round (naturally assuming AmEx didn’t invite their best clientele to go away).

Is this a healthy move for independent brick and mortars? Nope. Not at all.

If business owners were able to pay their credit card statements in full, they’d be doing it. And make no mistake-—this also includes vendors, many of which rely on plastic just as heavily. For AmEx to take on the role of strict parent, discontinuing open balances while painting it as fulfillment of customers’ desire for third party discipline is absurd. Clearly, they want out of the revolving credit business, now.

Their decision to return to payment in full terms, while shoring up their bottom line, will create even more financial havoc in the independent business sector than already exists today. Is it just me, or does that “shining light” appear to be sputtering on a dying battery all of a sudden?