How a $400 Vet bill sparked Innovation at

American Express – A Design Thinking Case Study

THE CHALLENGE

Help American Express design

new ways for Card Members to
pay that appeal to millennial and
Generation Z audiences.

T HE OUT COME

Pay It Plan It is a set of features that lets Card Members split up larger purchases of $100 or more
into monthly payments for a fixed fee with no interest, and quickly pay for purchases under $100
throughout the month

IMPACT

Since its launch in 2017, Pay It Plan It has been scaled to multiple American Express Cards. Card
Members have created almost 5 million Plans, totalling nearly $4 billion. Millennial and
Generation Z Card Members have created over 40 percent of these Plans.

Whether it's a replacement laptop, outdoor patio furniture, or faulty car transmission, many people
need or want to make larger credit card purchases they can't pay off at the end of the month and end
up accruing interest. “Over a year ago, I had to take my cat to the vet for an unexpected and expensive
surgery,” says one Card Member. “To be honest, I still don’t know if I’ve paid the bill off.”

Many crave the flexibility to pay for large purchases over time, but also want to avoid the pitfalls of
debt. Others rely on debit or cash for small items—no one wants to accumulate interest on a cup of
coffee, lunch with a friend, or box of Kleenex—but then miss out on valuable rewards.

American Express worked with IDEO to help them attract new customers by understanding what
financially stable young adults wanted in a credit card. The team began by interviewing more than
120 millennials to understand their payment behaviours around debit and credit, and how they think
about borrowing and spending.

One person described the monthly panic of receiving his bill—described as “statement shock”—and
his habit of making multiple payments before his billing cycle closed to ease this anxiety. Others were
wary of credit because of a large veterinarian bill or financial mistakes made in their 20s, and relied
on debit because it felt safer than accruing a balance to pay off. Overall, the team learned that many
consumers experience anxiety about paying their bills. And while financial products that offer more
flexibility and control have been needed for years, they are especially valuable in times of economic
uncertainty like today.

Based on this research, IDEO prototyped, iterated, and refined two concepts, with frequent feedback
from users and the client. Called Pay It Plan It, this feature offers financially responsible consumers
more transparency, confidence, and control.

Pay It allows Card Members to quickly pay for small purchase amounts under $100 with a few taps
in the American Express mobile app. When that purchase shows up on their account, they can
choose “Pay It” and still earn rewards on the purchase. This ensures Card Members can take
advantage of rewards while lowering their monthly bill by paying for smaller items throughout the
month.

With Plan It, Card Members can split up larger purchases of $100 or more—like an emergency trip to
the vet or a new sofa—into equal monthly payments, with a fixed fee and no interest. When the
purchase appears in their account, they can select “Plan It,” and will be offered up to three monthly
payment plans, ranging from three to 24 months. Each plan comes with a fixed monthly fee and no
interest. Card Members know exactly how much they have to pay each month, so there are no
surprises. And if they pay the purchase off early, they no longer have to pay any future plan fees.

The design of Pay It Plan It did not come without challenges: Bill pay is critical, complex, and highly
regulated. Pay It Plan It required a significant internal financial and technical investment, which was
achieved after IDEO shared many of the emotional, compelling stories from credit card users with
leaders at American Express.
The team worked closely with the American Express regulatory and digital teams to ensure
compliance and seamless integration into the mobile app and website’s user experiences and
interfaces. To heighten the sense of competence, control, and transparency for users, the designers
focused on small interactions like status animations, proactive suggestions, and straightforward
language. These interactions help Card Members anticipate upcoming payments and clearly
understand Pay It Plan It.

Initially, the team set out to create a new credit card with the needs of young adults in mind. But
IDEO and American Express realized that Pay It Plan It could be scaled across existing credit card
products to ultimately benefit and attract more Card Members. Now, almost all U.S. American
Express Consumer Card Members have access to Pay It Plan It through credit cards, co-branded
cards, and the well-known Green, Gold, and Platinum Cards. Since launching in 2017, Card
Members have created nearly 5 million Plans, totalling nearly $4 billion in purchases, with an
average Plan size of $789. Millennial and Generation Z Card Members have created approximately
44 percent of these Plans.

The flexibility and control offered through Pay It Plan have earned American Express positive press,
including a call-out in The New York Times for being among solutions that “make it easier for their
customers to borrow money, and to manage their monthly cash flow.”

At first glance, design-led innovation may seem difficult to achieve in large, established organizations
like American Express, operating in a highly regulated and deeply rational industry. But the IDEO
and American Express team successfully found ways to introduce new behaviours like rapid
prototyping, cross-discipline collaboration, and leading with emotional customer stories within the
existing organizational culture and structure. American Express has since established a permanent
Pay It Plan It team dedicated to evolving the feature. Made up of employees across departments, this
points to a new and collaborative team structure for the company.

By seeking to understand the human behind the Card Member, American Express has transformed
credit and financial services for the better, helping both to be defined by empathy, utility, and
transparency.