Small Business Targeted by AmEx

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) --

American Express

(AXP) - Get Report

CEO and Chairman Ken Chenault hinted Wednesday at a "stimulus plan for small business," the company plans to unveil in the next few days.

Speaking at a breakfast hosted by

The Wall Street Journal

, Chenault said the small business plan does not involve giving easier credit terms to customers and is not a partnership with government, but held off on further details, saying they would be forthcoming.

The small business issue also appears to be on the mind of executives at

Citigroup

(C) - Get Report

, which announced Wednesday it had approved $60 million in loans out of $200 million intended "to help fuel small business lending in low-wealth and low-income U.S. communities."

Despite its exclusive image, Chenault said American Express has middle class customers, though he fears new legislation, most notably the

CARD Act

will make it more difficult for lenders like Amex to serve them through "risk-based pricing."

Chenault added that consumer confidence is improving but "fragile," due largely to a lack of available credit to middle class and lower middle class people.

Discussing his plans to boost sales, Chenault devoted a lot of attention to technology-driven partnerships with other companies. He highlighted the fact that American Express "run

s" the website for

Delta Air Lines

(DAL) - Get Report

, while allowing

Darden Restaurants Inc.

(DRI) - Get Report

to use Amex data to decide where to open new locations.

"We have the information stream across the merchant side," Chenault said. "

Visa

(V) - Get Report

is not connected on the merchant side."

Chenault also noted a partnership with

Amazon.com

(AMZN) - Get Report

, and suggested electronic payments will evolve to a point where mobile phones will in many ways resemble an enhanced version of an American Express card.

"A payments transaction is a commodity," he said, unless it could be viewed as "the connective tissue for lifestyle improvements and business improvements."

Chenault also dismissed the "financial supermarket" model espoused by Citigroup and other financial companies in the 1990's, saying American Express was the "original" example of such a company.

"I've seen that movie before," he said, arguing that, with a few exceptions, it is important for financial companies to stay focused on what they do best.

--

Written by Dan Freed in New York

.

Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.