American Express (AXP  ) and Amazon (AMZN  ) are teaming up to launch a credit card targeted at small businesses. Amazon will provide greater details on purchases that AmEx card customers make on its site in an effort to give its shoppers greater access to data and ability to control purchases. The card will also offer rewards points. There are even talks of introducing business insurance down the line. The data that Amazon collects will also help it tailor its customer rewards program and upsell customers on new features. A launch date has not been decided upon yet, but the card will generally be geared at business with less than $10 million in annual revenue.

Amazon is really looking to grow its financial services division. This new venture should give it the boost it needs. Max Bardon, VP at Amazon, commented that "We selected American Express as our partner for the upcoming small business credit card because of our shared commitment to helping small businesses grow. Offering the best of both brands, the cobranded small business credit card program will combine the buying power, convenience and value small businesses have come to know and love from Amazon backed by the world-class service, benefits, access and security of American Express."

Amazon is hoping to provide small companies with everything from office supplies to factory parts. Critics complain that since Amazon will be relying on a banking partner to provide the infrastructure for its small-business credit card, the deal will not be a huge moneymaker. Still, many analysts say that this is not really the point. Senior analyst at research firm Forrester, Peter Wannemacher, commented that, "Many brilliant companies have recognized that you don't need to have a banking license to succeed in the broader financial services ecosystem.Amazon doesn't need immediate or thick revenue streams to come out of any banking effort to be successful."

AmEx, one of the largest small-business card issuers in the US, plans to become the leading payment and working-capital provider for SMBs (small to medium businesses). The company reported $11.4 billion in global small-business credit-card balances in the first quarter. AmEx has separate deals with JPM (JPM  ) and with Synchrony (SYF  ) but this is their first co-branded partnership with Amazon. This partnership is also a comeback for AmEx after their deal with Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST  ) ended.

Last year, AmEx rolled out a new type of loan for SMBs that could be used for consolidating debt and equipment purchases. Glenda McNeal, President at AmEx, expressed that, "At American Express, we have been helping business owners grow for more than 50 years and we know that millions of them rely on Amazon. Amazon's global product selection and selling services help small businesses think big and run efficiently...When we look at our card-member relationships -- they definitely purchase on Amazon... being able to provide incremental value to them through a partnership we create is always something we're looking to do."