American Express has been ordered by the central bank of Italy to suspend the distribution of new credit cards after falling foul of regulations governing money laundering, usury, and transparency.
The Bank of Italy stepped in following a judicial investigation prompted by customer complaints about overbearing rates, and the use of confusing and complicated wordage by the credit card industry.
In a statement, American Express acknowledged the actions and says it is implementing an upgrade of its information-technology systems and other procedures in order to "adhere more closely to the regulations applicable to payments service providers and financial intermediaries".
The suspension does not affect existing Amex card holders, who can continue to use their cards in the country.