Amazon has announced that it will accept payments from Visa cards in the UK, according to arrive Reuters . “Due to Visa's continued high payment costs, we regret that Amazon.co.uk will no longer accept Visa credit cards issued by the UK as of January 19, 2022,” a spokesperson for Visa said. Amazon said in a statement.
Why do we care. The change won't happen until after the holiday season, so Amazon sellers won't feel affected during this important sale. If Amazon and Visa fail to reach a resolution, merchants may see sales decline as customers navigate the change and find other payment methods.
Amazon sellers may also see some hypocrisy here: Amazon Referral Fee this fee is charged to merchants each time they sell a product, ranging from 3% to 20%, with most product categories subject to 15% tuition.
And, in the US, Amazon has a co-branded Visa card that rewards Prime members up to 5% for purchases on Amazon and Whole Foods. The e-commerce platform is considering eliminating the partnership, according to Fort Reuters . If Amazon doesn't replace this co-branded rewards program, that's one less reason to shop within Amazon's ecosystem or maintain a Prime membership.
Other forms of payment are still accepted. The e-commerce platform will continue to accept MasterCard and American Express credit cards, Eurocard and Visa debit cards.
“We continue to work towards a solution, so our cardholders can use their preferred Visa credit cards at Amazon UK without the restrictions imposed by Amazon in January. 2022,” a Visa spokesperson said in a statement.
Brexit triggered the fee hike. After Brexit, the EU fee limits imposed on credit card issuers no longer apply to the UK, meaning issuers are free to increase fees. Last month, Visa did just that, increasing fees from 0.3% to 1.5% for online credit card payments between the UK and the EU. It also increased the debit card fee from 0.2% to 1. 15%.
Before Visa, MasterCard also increased fees from 0.3% to 1.5%, according to go up BBC . It's not clear why Amazon's new policy only affects Visa.
Other retailers may follow. These fees are known as “exchange fees” – transaction fees applied to the merchant's bank account whenever a customer uses a credit or debit card to pay for a purchase from the merchant's store. surname. These fees are paid to the card issuer and cover fraud, bad debt, and processing costs. Naturally, they apply to all businesses that accept credit or debit, not just Amazon.
“If Amazon can't make it work, with all their resources and ability to tweak the law to avoid costs, then small businesses won't stand a chance and so the government has to improve the deal. UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement to keep UK businesses competitive. Tamara Cincik of the UK Business and Trade Commission said.
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