Amex CEO Skeptical About Bitcoin

American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault is not so certain that Bitcoin is going to play a dominant payment role any time soon.

“There’s a reason credit cards were invented,” Chenault said at an industry conference Thursday (Dec. 11), according to a report in The New York Times. People want the ability to defer payments, he said, according to the story.

“The protocol of Bitcoin is going to be important,” he said, pointing out that, sometimes, alternative approaches have forced huge industry changes, citing iTunes and music service Napster. “I don’t know how this is going to evolve,” Chenault said, referring to Bitcoin. “I think there’s room for a lot of players.”

The story said the arguments for and against Bitcoin have pretty much come down to two points: Bitcoin will charge far lower fees; payment cards are a lot more secure.