Spending by small and medium-sized enterprises with American Express in the third quarter of 2021 increased by 11% compared with the third quarter of 2019, according to Jeff Campbell, CFO, speaking on a third-quarter earnings call. He said the company had been “very focused” on helping small and medium-sized enterprise clients run their businesses by expanding the range of products and capabilities that meet their B2B payments and working capital needs. In contrast, said Campbell, large and global corporate card spending, which historically has been primarily for travel and entertainment, continued to show fewer signs of recovery. The company has said all along that this would be the last customer type to see travel recover, he said. American Express, said Campbell, did see some modest impacts from the Delta variant in the airline category, where the pace of recovery slowed a bit in August, but it has strengthened again in September and into early October. Overall, third-quarter spending volume on American Express corporate cards totaled $126.1 billion, up from $119.9 billion in the second quarter and up 28% year over year.