Amazon and Visa bury the hatchet over UK credit card fees
Amazon and Visa have reached a “global agreement” that will allow customers to continue to use their Visa credit cards on the Amazon UK website.
Surcharging fees in Australia and Singapore will also be scrapped, says Amazon
The e-commerce giant had initially planned to stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK from 19 January due to high transaction fees before a last-minute U-turn.
In an e-mail to customers 48 hours before the deadline, Amazon said the move will “no longer take place on January 19” and that it is “working closely with Visa on a potential solution”.
It seems that solution has now been hashed out, with both parties announcing a truce.
Amazon released a statement which says it will not turn off Visa credit cards from amazon.co.uk.
Additionally, customers in Australia and Singapore will no longer pay a surcharging fee to use a Visa credit card.
A spokesperson says: “We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores. Amazon remains committed to offering customers a payment experience that is convenient and offers choice.”
Visa echoed Amazon and announced a “broad, global agreement” with the online retailer.
A Visa spokesperson says: “This agreement includes the acceptance of Visa at all Amazon stores and sites today, as well as a joint commitment to collaboration on new product and technology initiatives to ensure innovative payment experiences for our customers in the future.”
The dispute between the two household names originates with Brexit. In the UK, an EU-enforced cap on fees charged by card issuers is no longer in place and both Visa and Mastercard have increased some fees as a result.
