American Express and AOL’s Patch Team Up to “Serve” Communities, Small Businesses

American Express and AOL’s Patch have entered into a strategic partnership to offer Serve, a robust, next-generation digital payment and commerce platform, to millions of Patch customers, it was announced today. Users will be able to sign up for Serve accounts via hundreds of Patch sites this fall.

As part of its recently launched Patch Deals platform, Patch, the hyperlocal arm of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, will offer users the ability to redeem local deals and transact with local merchants via the American Express network. Through the partnership, local merchants will be able to post offers online in a more streamlined, effective way, and consumers will benefit by redeeming offers at the point of sale.

In addition to the comprehensive editorial content on its over 800 sites, Patch provides a platform for local businesses to connect with their target customers. Patch currently features over 850,000 small business listings.

Patch users may be offered Serve accounts that will include a co-branded card, which can be used to redeem local merchant deals offline – meaning no coupons to print or codes to remember. In partnering with Patch, Serve aims to dramatically expand its consumer reach to the millions of users in Patch communities nationwide.

“Our collaboration with AOL’s Patch increases the scale and reach of the Serve platform and helps bridge the divide between online commerce and offline deals in a way that benefits merchants and consumers,” said Dan Schulman, Group President, Enterprise Growth, American Express. “This partnership showcases the breadth of the capabilities of the Serve platform to make digital payments hassle-free, user-friendly and part of the norm – and now through our work with Patch, we can add locally relevant to that list.”

”Through this simple yet fresh way of redeeming local deals, Patch and Serve will offer users an even stronger connection to their communities and the businesses in their area,” commented Warren Webster, president of Patch Media. “We are proud to partner with Amex given their reputation for innovation in the marketplace, and are eager to see how our collaboration may further benefit our collective consumers.”

Patch Deals launched in select communities in early June, and is designed to help residents save money on local high-quality goods and services and to help small- and medium-sized merchants connect with their target customers, promote their products, and drive foot traffic.

About Serve

Serve, by American Express, is an open, next-generation payments platform designed to deliver emerging payments and services to address the changing ways consumers interact and exchange money -- with one another -- as well as merchants. Learn more at serve.com and connect with us on facebook.com/paywithserve and twitter.com/serve.

About American Express

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress and youtube.com/americanexpress.

About AOL

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a premier global media company with a suite of brands and products serving consumers, advertisers and publishers worldwide. The AOL Huffington Post Media Group is a leading source of news, opinion, entertainment, community and digital information comprised of a wide range of destination websites, including AOL.com, The Huffington Post,TechCrunch, Moviefone, Engadget, Patch, AOL Music, StyleList and MapQuest. The AOL Advertising.com Group includes Advertising.com, ADTECH, Pictela, Video, inclusive of goviral and 5min Media, Content Solutions and Sponsored Listings and serves a combined content and advertising market at scale through video, brand advertising, content and ad serving. AOL is focused on engaging consumers and providing online advertising services and solutions on both AOL Huffington Post Media Group destination websites and third party websites, in addition to serving consumer platforms including AOL Mail, AIM, about.me, and mobile experiences. AOL also operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as another distribution channel for its consumer offerings.

About Patch

Patch.com, part of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, is a platform of hyperlocal news, information and community sites managed by professional local journalists, photographers, and videographers. The premier online destination for residents who want to participate in discussions, post information and announcements, and get involved in their communities, Patch features comprehensive and trusted local coverage as well as user interaction and engagement between business owners and consumers. Patch is now in over 800 communities in 20 states plus Washington, D.C.