Foursquare teams up with Amex in biggest deal yet

Foursquare, the location-based social networking website, has introduced its largest partnership to date by signing a US-wide deal with American Express.

The deal will see American Express offer discounts to cardholders when they check in on their mobile phone at certain shops and restaurants that accept its credit cards.
The clothing retailer H&M, whose stores can be found in the UK as well as in the States, is one of the shops to offer a discount in the deal.

Foursquare will not receive any revenue from the deal, but says that the partnership will help to legitimise its approach and encourage other leading brands to come forward and engage in more lucrative partnerships.

Edward P Gilligan, vice chairman of American Express, said that the company decided to go ahead with the deal after a successful trial run at the South by Southwest music and technology conference in March.

Gilligan said: “We’ve always done marketing with merchants to make offers to our card members, like send offers through direct mail, put information about sales on the Internet. But those response rates tend to be low.

“The test version of the Foursquare tie-up brought a higher response rate than anything else we’ve done.”

The deal may well be brought to the UK if it is successful in the States.