WASHINGTON — American Express said Friday it had completed its acquisition of Revolution Money, a Web payments firm started in 2005 by Internet firm AOL founder Steve Case.



With the 300 million dollar acquisition, AmEx is taking aim at the growing market for online and alternative payments, in a challenge to recognized leader PayPal, according to analysts.



AmEx is believed to be interested in the so-called peer-to-peer services of Revolution, which enable low-cost money transfers among individuals and businesses.



PayPal, a unit of eBay, has been able to dominate in this area but others such as Google Checkout have struggled, say analysts.



Revolution Money issues cards without the use of names or account numbers, with transactions authorized using a personal code. It provides person-to-person payment accounts that can be used on social and instant-messaging networks as well as prepaid cards.



Florida-based Revolution Money sprung from the venture capital group led by Case, with the mission "to drive transformative change by shifting power to consumers," according to the group.