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| Amazon bans Visa credit cards in the UK |
From January 19, 2022, Amazon will no longer accept payments made with UK-issued Visa credit cards. Customers can still use UK-issued Visa debit and credit cards from MasterCard, American Express, and other companies.
Amazon is banning the use of UK Visa credit cards as part of an ongoing battle against currency exchange fees - card issuers charge commercial banks fees for every transaction.
Under EU law, Visa charges a maximum transaction fee of 0.3% for transactions between the UK and the EU (where Amazon UK processes payments). But since the UK left the EU, Visa has been able to increase the fee to 1.5%.
However, Visa isn't the only company making this change. Mastercard has also increased similar exchange fees prior to Visa. But it hasn't been banned by Amazon.
It is not known why Visa was chosen. Perhaps this is just a strategic move by the e-commerce giant that is hurting the company more than the industry as a whole.
Visa's payment policies can be particularly complex. For example, Bloomberg reports that the company has increased transaction costs for e-commerce sites while lowering costs in other areas such as education and home purchases.
It is not clear if there are similar differences in the policies of MasterCard or other card issuers.
Amazon no longer accepts Visa credit cards
The company said the cost of accepting credit card payments remains an obstacle to the company's efforts to offer customers the best interest rates. As technology advances, these costs are expected to decrease over time. Instead, however, it continues to increase.
"Because the cost of visas continues to rise," she added. It is a shame that Amazon UK will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK on January 19, 2022. Customers can continue to use all debit cards (including Visa debit cards) and credit cards except for Visa purchase cards.
A Visa spokesperson told the BBC: UK shoppers can use their Visa debit and credit cards on Amazon UK today and during the holidays.
"We are very disappointed by future threats from Amazon that limit consumer choice," he added. When consumers have limited choices, no one wins. We have a long-term cooperation with Amazon. We continue to work hard to find solutions so that our cardholders can use Amazon UK Visa credit cards without Amazon restrictions in January 2022.