1. Define American Express’s overall business-level strategy. Does Bank 2.0 fit into American Express’s overall business-level strategy?

2. How does Bank 2.0 stand up against the competitors in the industry?

3. What insights does a SWOT analysis reveal about how Bank 2.0 should be positioned in the future?

4. Integrate the results of the analysis into recommendations for growing the business and combatting competitive pressures to maximize performance.

In June 2011, American Express announced the formation of a new group, Enterprise Growth (EG). EG was designed to challenge existing credit and charge business models and extend American Express's leadership into the world of digital and mobile forms of payment through the use of software platforms and mobile apps. Alpesh Chokshi, president of EG, and Wesley Wright, product development leader, were well aware of the magnitude of the potential market that was currently underserved by traditional banking services. They saw an opportunity to do something bigger—to move American Express into debit and checking spending. EG called the initiative Bank 2.0, indicating the application of technology to usher in a “next iteration” of banking.