AmX to open SSC in Poland ? Budapest and Prague in the fight

According to Puls Biznesu daily, American Express is planning to open a service center in Poland and employ up to 2,000 people there. The issuer of payment cards is looking for a place for a service center, which will initially employ 500, and ultimately - up to 2000 people. Warsaw is in a battle with Budapest and Prague.

Led by Stephen J. Squery, American Express may be another well-known brand from the financial services sector that will enter Poland after JP Morgan and Standard Chartered.

“The company is looking for a bigger office than it needs for 500 employees. Ultimately, it can have more than 1000. Warsaw competes with Prague and Budapest, being the strongest player on the list. The center is to be opened by the end of 2018”, said PB's unidentified source.

The company has not yet officially announced the decision, and is officially “just looking around”.

“American Express employs 150 people in two offices in Warsaw. We are a global company that supports card users, resellers and business partners through a network of offices in the US and other locations. We intend to develop business in the United States and beyond. From time to time, we evaluate the condition of our properties, checking if they meet our growing needs. We are considering opportunities, also in Warsaw and other places in the region. It's just a study. We have not made any decisions”, said Doug Smith from the American Express press office.

Krzysztof Senger, a member of the board of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), refuses to comment. It will probably apply for a grant.

An American Express investment would not surprise experts. “Thanks to the entry of JP Morgan, the expansion of service centers in Poland, which belong to financial institutions, and more recently Standard Chartered decisions, subsequent players start talks with us. I was in New York in meetings with potential investors”, said Senger, who attended the USA-Europe Shared Services Summit & Awards in New York in June.

In the autumn of last year, JP Morgan announced that it is opening an office in Warsaw, where it will employ 3,000 people. The company is led by Slawomir Soszynski. And in July, Standard Chartered bank announced that in September it will open a business center in Warsaw, where 150 will work, and within five years - 750 people.

Brexit impact?
The European headquarters of American Express since the 1960s is located in the British city of Brighton on the English Channel. The company also has a customer service center and employs about 3 000 people.