A charge card company has backtracked after mistakenly warning customers of account closures.

Earlier this week, American Express told Manx customers it would be cancelling their bank cards later this year.

It has since reassured its customers on the island they can continue using their cards.

The blunder comes after a letter was sent by American Express to all customers in the Crown dependencies stating that their bank cards would be cancelled from October 2 this year.

The American financial services company said that the letters were sent in error and services to existing card holders would be maintained.

However, to apply for a new American Express card you must have an address in the United Kingdom.

Since 2019, new applications to many lenders have been rejected as the island is not part of the United Kingdom.

A similar mistake was made earlier this year when Barclaycard told customers in the island that their cards were being terminated in a month’s time, only to reverse its decision and apologise hours later.

However, some charge and credit card companies have withdrawn their services from the island and the Channel Islands completely in recent years.

Tesco Bank sent letters to Manx customers in early 2022 saying it would be terminating cards for customers in Crown dependencies, with a UK address essential.

Another example is Marks & Spencer, which stopped offering new credit cards to Manx customers in 2016 after arguing it was in line with the majority of UK banks and it was no longer viable given the complexity of offering products across different regulatory jurisdictions.

Earlier this year the Department for Enterprise was in discussion with UK credit card lenders and the UK Government about availability of credit cards for the island.

Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston told Tynwald in April that his department is ‘taking the lead’ in dialogue with card providers while gathering data to understand the size of the market here.

He said the island is ‘trying to prove to lenders it’s worth providing something in this space for the island’.