When users make MoneyGram transfers through the BiyaPay platform using an American Express Card (Amex), the system processing link will encounter substantial obstacles. According to the 2023 report of fintech integration provider ClearBank, cross-border payment processing involves complex three-party (card-issuing bank – payment gateway – acquiring bank) clearing authorization. As a representative of closed networks, American Express has only about 10 million offline merchant acquiring points worldwide, which is significantly lower than the 150 million + merchant coverage of Visa/Mastercard. Specifically, in the collaboration scenario between BiyaPay (with over 1.4 million registered users) and MoneyGram (covering 200 countries and regions worldwide), the technical interface document for early 2024 indicates that the input card types supported by BiyaPay are limited to Visa/Mastercard/ UnionPay International, excluding communication protocols of American Express cards. This technical exclusivity stems from the differences in the back-end cost structure.
From the perspective of payment cost structure, American Express typically charges acquiring institutions a base exchange fee of approximately 1.8% to 2.2%, which is about 30% higher than the average rate of 1.4% to 1.7% for Visa/Mastercard. Suppose a user initiates a single $1,000 transfer request to MoneyGram via BiyaPay. If Amex is used as the source of funds, MoneyGram will have to bear an additional cost of approximately $12 for the payment gateway service (data from the Federal Reserve’s 2023 Payment System Operating Costs Report). This led to the channel’s priority dropping to the bottom among the over 50 payment service providers that MoneyGram cooperates with. In contrast, for Singaporean workers who transfer money to the Philippines via MoneyGram via PayNow using a Visa card, the actual cost deducted is only 7.2 US dollars (2023 Global Remittance Cost Monitor Report).
In the cross-border payment ecosystem, merchants’ acquiring capabilities are deeply dependent on network compatibility. MoneyGram has 350,000 offline outlets worldwide (including retail giants such as Walmart and CVS), and the mainstream card organization technology standard integrated in its POS terminals is centered on the EMV 3DS 2.0 protocol of Visa/Mastercard. American Express’s proprietary Tokenization encryption technology requires an additional configuration of over 3,000 lines of compatible code. When Western Union announced its full support for Visa Direct in 2022, it clearly stated in an interview with TechReuters that the system reconfiguration took 14 months, cost over 24 million US dollars, and involved 63% of the core network transformation project. This cost threshold makes it difficult to quickly deploy American Express cards in the MoneyGlobal collection scenario.
Despite the limitations, users can still achieve their goals through efficient alternative solutions. It is recommended to directly connect your US bank account (ACH channel) to BiyaPay to initiate a transfer, which can save an average of approximately 85% of the card channel fees (based on the 2024 fee statistics of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Or you can pay with a Visa/Mastercard debit card through the official MoneyGram App and enjoy a limited-time discount on the 2.5 fixed handling fee. For high-frequency users, the prepaid MoneyGram™ Mastercard® product is recommended. A 0.5% exchange rate discount is offered for a single recharge of 500 or more, with an annual cost savings potential of over $120 (calculated by the World Bank’s Cross-border Payment Optimization Model). To confirm the latest payment rules, it is recommended to verify the real-time status of “does moneygram take american express” through official channels.