Issuers bend cards to firms' needs; Put payrolls on plastic, offer online advice to woo small business users.(credit card companies (Small Business))

Crain's New York Business, October, 2002 by Malbin, Peter

Byline: peter malbin With business conditions tending toward the treacherous, it pays to be cautious and to keep a close watch on cash. These days, Sonya Weisshappel, owner of relocation firm Seriatim, does just that by going online. She connects with OPEN: The Small Business Network from American Express, which she uses as a cash management tool for her Manhattan-based business.

``I can check online whether or not (customers' American Express) charges have been cleared,'' she says. And at the same time, she can keep up-to-the-minute tabs on the charges being rung up by her 14 employees. ``All the charges come on one statement.'' American Express' new OPEN network is just one of several initiatives launched by the three big credit card companies in...

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