Amazon bans to receive payment from the UK- issued visa credit cards

From January 19th, 2022, Amazon will no longer accept payments made using Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom.

Customers will continue to be able to use Visa debit cards issued in the United Kingdom, as well as MasterCard, American Express, and other credit cards.

Amazon is refusing to accept Visa credit cards from the United Kingdom as part of a long-running dispute over “interchange” fees, which are charged by card issuers to the merchant’s bank for each transaction.

Visa’s interchange fees for UK-EU transactions (where Amazon UK processes payments) were previously regulated at 0.3 percent by EU regulation.

However, following the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, Visa has been permitted to increase the price to 1.5 percent.

AMAZON HAS SINGLED OUT VISAS FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON

Visa, on the other hand, isn’t the only firm to do so. Before Visa, MasterCard increased its interchange fees in a similar way, but Amazon did not prevent it.

Visa has been singled out for some reason that isn’t quite obvious. It might just be a deliberate move by Amazon to target a single firm rather than an entire sector.

Alternatively, Visa’s payment procedures may have special complexities. Bloomberg reports, for example, that the business has raised interchange costs for e-commerce sites while lowering rates in other areas such as education and real estate sales.

It’s unclear whether MasterCard or other card providers have policies that make comparable distinctions.

According to Amazon in a statement, the company stated, “The cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers. These costs should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead, they continue to stay high or even rise.

They added, “As a result of Visa’s continued high cost of payments, we regret that Amazon.co.uk will no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards as of 19 January 2022. Customers can continue to use all debit cards (including Visa debit cards) and other non-Visa credit cards to shop on Amazon.co.uk.”

While a spokesperson for Visa tells the media, “UK shoppers can use their Visa debit and credit cards at Amazon UK today and throughout the holiday season. We are very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future.

He added, “When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins. We have a long-standing relationship with Amazon, and we continue to work toward a resolution, so our cardholders can use their preferred Visa credit cards at Amazon UK without Amazon-imposed restrictions come January 2022.”

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