Bank of Italy blocks issue of American Express credit cards

The Bank of Italy said Thursday it has blocked the issue of American Express credit cards because the company failed to respect regulations on late fee payments and money laundering. "The Bank of Italy passed a measure to suspend the issue of new American Express cards," a spokeswoman for the bank told AFP, adding that credit cards already issued will not be affected by the measure.
The decision was taken because the Bank of Italy detected "irregularities on matters of usury, money-laundering and transparency" on the part of American Express.