Banks

American Express Partners With Fintech Firms to Help Customers Find Mortgages

Raychel Brightman | Newsday LLC | Newsday | Getty Images
  • American Express is marketing partnerships with Better and Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans for customers interested in home loans.
  • It's the latest perk for cardholders and another example of financial institutions partnering with start-ups to offer customers a fuller suite of services or additional perks.

American Express has two new fintech partnerships it's marketing for customers interested in home loans.

It's the latest perk for cardholders and another example of financial institutions partnering with start-ups to offer customers a fuller suite of services or additional perks outside of the scope of the firm itself, an AmEx spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday to CNBC.

"Amex has tons of different partners that they've used throughout the years, which used to be a lot more travel focused, and now they're broadening out into financial services," D.A. Davidson analyst Chris Brendler said.

It's also a sign of the times. Even as the U.S. economy reopens, staying home and home spending have become a bigger priority for many, despite others' eagerness to get outside and travel.

Eligible Amex customers who get their mortgages from Better or Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans, can receive a statement credit of $2,000 for conforming mortgages, or $6,000 for jumbo mortgages.

A spokeswoman for Amex said there's no revenue-sharing agreement, it's just making the partner offers available for cardholder. These partnerships are the result of a mortgage offering pilot that began in 2019. Amex went live with Better earlier this month and Rocket Mortgage on Tuesday.

"If Amex can offer value that exceeds the membership fee of the card each year, that'll ensure the cardholder continues to transact with Amex," said David Sica, partner at fintech-focused Nyca Partners.

Amex's venture arm also invested in Better's Series C fund raise in 2019. The 5-year-old digital mortgage lender provides an entirely online process with no origination fees and pre-approval within three minutes. SoftBank invested $500 million in it earlier this year. It has a valuation of $7.7 billion, a company spokesman told CNBC, and plans to go public through a SPAC in the fourth quarter.

—The story has been clarified to indicate that Amex is providing marketing for its fintech partners.

Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.
Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV.
Sign up to start a free trial today.

Copyright CNBC
Contact Us