United Kingdom · Payments & e-money
American Express Services Europe Limited
American Express Services Europe Limited (AESEL) is a private limited company registered in England and Wales, with its registered office in London. The FCA authorises it as an authorised payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, reference 661836. The FCA also authorises it for consumer credit and insurance mediation. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company, held 90.75% through American Express Holdings Limited and the rest through American Express International Inc. It issues American Express charge and credit cards to consumers, small businesses and corporate clients in the UK. It also provides technology, operational and servicing support to other American Express group companies.
Licences and registrations
Held by American Express Services Europe Limited (LEI 549300GH8KY3M2QD3W46). 1 entry on 1 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPsFCALinked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives. | Authorised Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | 661836 | United Kingdom | Active | 2018-06-14 | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
Trading names on the register: American Express (FCA-PSD)
- Licences belong to the legal entity, not to a BIC.
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
- The register entries and their trading names were not matched against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- AESUGB21XXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Passive participant (no connection)This BIC is registered for identification only. The institution has no direct connection to the Swift network. Messages and payments reach it through a correspondent bank. The “1” in the eighth character of AESUGB21 marks a passive participant.
- Swift GPI
- Not on the member list
- Payment schemes and systems
- No entry in the EPC registers, the ECB T2 and TIPS lists or the SIX Bank Master cites this BIC
- Branch codes
- None: head-office BIC only
- Other BIC with this LEI
- AESUDEF1
- BIC first registered
- 2016-08-06
- Last updated
- 2016-08-06
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Ownership
Group subsidiary
90.75% American Express Holdings Limited
Firm type
Other
Trades as American Express
- Ownership
- American Express Holdings Limited owns 90.75% of the firm and American Express International Inc. owns the remaining 9.25%, both within the American Express Company group.
- Direct parent
- American Express Holdings Limited ↗, United Kingdom 90.75%
- Ultimate owner
- American Express Company, United States
- Head office
- Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9AX London, United Kingdom
- Company register
- Companies House 01833139
- Incorporated
- 16 Jul 1984
- Former names
- AMERICAN EXPRESS SERVICES LIMITED · CABLEHERON LIMITED
Online
- Websites & references
- americanexpress.com ↗
- Official social accounts
- X ↗ · Facebook ↗
- Apps
- App Store ↗ · Google Play ↗
Sources · 6 pages consulted
- americanexpress.com/en-gb/company/about/information/
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01833139
- find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01833139/officers
- americanexpress.com/uk/company/legal/governance-reporting/
- americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/uk/company/legal/aesel-2025-financial-statement.pdf
- americanexpress.com/uk/customer-service/digital/amex-mobile-app.html
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The FCA authorises the firm as an authorised payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, reference 661836. The FCA also authorises it for consumer credit and insurance mediation, and it uses the consumer credit permission to lend to UK cardmembers.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Authorised Payment Institution (Payment Services Regulations 2017) | 661836 | In its own name | Active | americanexpress.com ↗ |
| Financial Conduct Authority United Kingdom | Consumer credit and insurance mediation permissions | 661836 | In its own name | Active | americanexpress.com ↗ |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Partners and safeguarding
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Safeguarding
- Not disclosedThe firm states that it safeguards relevant funds daily under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and that a third party reviews its safeguarding process each year, but it does not name the method.
- Payment schemes and card networks
- American Express network Access not stated americanexpress.com ↗
Banks and regulated firms the firm says hold its customers’ money, issue its cards, sponsor its accounts or settle its payments, as it discloses them in its terms and notices.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
It issues American Express charge and revolving credit cards with rewards programmes such as Membership Rewards to UK consumer, small-business and corporate clients, and offers instalment loans and lines of credit.
It issues cards in the UK and has branches in Germany and Italy that service group entities and employee obligations, and its EEA card issuing is carried out by subsidiaries.
- Revenue
- GBP 2.53bn
- Sells to
- Consumers · Small businesses · Enterprises
- Serves customers in
- United Kingdom
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Chair
- Hannah Louise Lewis Chairperson and UK Country Manager
- Chief financial officer
- Julia Anne Huson Chief Financial Officer
- Executive
- Gurinderjit Kaur Gill Company Secretary
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Other
The firm created a Board Risk Committee, supported by a Risk Management Committee that replaced its Operational Risk Committee.
americanexpress.com ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Julia Huson as director and Chief Financial Officer on 15 January 2026.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
The firm appointed Caroline Bouvet as a director on 1 December 2025.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗ -
Leadership
Chief Financial Officer David Bailey resigned as a director on 28 November 2025.
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk ↗
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Identifiers
Head-office record
- BIC
- AESUGB21XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- AESUBank
- GBCountry · United Kingdom
- 21Location · passive
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 549300GH8KY3M2QD3W46
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · FCA-PSD
- 661836
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entry: Matched by Elucidate on the UK company number the register gives.
- Register-entry ID
- b49fb7d2800c
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-moneyPayment institutions, e-money and stored-value issuers, and account-information providers. Licensed under payment-services law (e.g. PSD2 in the EU and UK, the Payment Services Act in Singapore). Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Register licences
- 1 entry on 1 register
- Activities
- Payment services
- Licensed in
- United Kingdom
- Website (register)
- www.americanexpress.com ↗
- Country · region
- United Kingdom · Europe & Central Asia
- Trading venues (MIC)
- No MIC registered under this LEI list of 2026-09-17
- OFAC sanctions
- No listing cites this BIC
- EU sanctions
- No listing matched this BIC or its LEI
- Country sanctions
- No country programme
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
- Direct parent
- American Express Holdings Limited · United Kingdom549300PMUGNBUOS21511 ↗
- Ultimate parent
- American Express Company · United StatesR4PP93JZOLY261QX3811 ↗
The American Express Company group has 9 institutions in the directory, in 6 countries: 7 hold a BIC and 2 do not.
Including American Express Europe, S.A., American Express Payment Services Limited, American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., American Express Australia Limited, American Express Bank LLC.
See the American Express Company group →Group membership follows the accounting-consolidation relationships reported to GLEIF. It does not show ownership shares or control.
Addresses
- Registered address
- BELGRAVE HOUSE 76 BUCKINGHAM PALACE ROAD LONDON SW1W 9AX UNITED KINGDOM
- Operational address
- BELGRAVE HOUSE 76 BUCKINGHAM PALACE ROAD LONDON LONDON SW1W 9AX UNITED KINGDOM
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
A CBPR+ message identifies this institution by its BIC, and may add its LEI or a clearing code. CBPR+ does not allow a name and postal address next to a BIC.
- Identified by
- BIC, with its LEI
- Roles in CBPR+
- Debtor agent, creditor agent or an intermediary agent
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>AESUGB21XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300GH8KY3M2QD3W46</LEI>
</FinInstnId>Full record
Every ISO 20022 element the directory holds. Base ISO 20022 allows them together. CBPR+ does not allow a name and address next to a BIC
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>AESUGB21XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300GH8KY3M2QD3W46</LEI>
<Nm>AMERICAN EXPRESS SERVICES EUROPE LIMITED</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>LONDON</TwnNm>
<Ctry>GB</Ctry>
<AdrLine>BELGRAVE HOUSE 76 BUCKINGHAM PALACE ROAD LONDON SW1W 9AX</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>This BIC is not connected to Swift. Messages reach the institution through a correspondent bank, so it cannot be the instructing or instructed agent.
The BIC, name and address are as published in Swift’s BIC directory. The LEI comes from the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI file. Check them against your own records before use.
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Sources & method
Every value comes from a public source, such as Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory, GLEIF or the OFAC and EU sanctions lists. Most sources are matched on a BIC or an LEI, not on a name.
Swift GPI membership is matched on names and is indicative. A missing sanctions match does not mean that no listing applies. Always screen against the official lists.
Register entries are not screened against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Credits for this page
- FCA Financial Services Register - Payment Institutions & RAISPs—Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Ownership and group—GLEIF Level 2 relationship records (accounting consolidation), matched by LEI.
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
- Images—logos and photos from Wikimedia Commons (credited with their author and licence) or from the institution's own website, where Wikimedia has none. Elucidate keeps a copy of each; the links lead to the source and the original image. Logo: americanexpress.com (official website) · original.
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