Amazon reverses ban on UK-issued Visa credit cards

Amazon has announced that it will no longer stop supporting UK-issued visa credit cards on its platform.

The move had been due to take effect on 19 January, with Amazon blaming "high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions" when it was first announced in November.

The company has now reversed its decision, telling IT Pro in a statement that it is working with Visa on a "potential solution."

“The expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will no longer take place on January 19, a company spokesperson told IT Pro. "We are working closely with Visa on a potential solution that will enable customers to continue using their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk.”

17/11/21: Amazon to stop accepting UK-issued Visa credit cards

Amazon has announced that it will stop accepting UK-issued Visa credit cards starting 19 January 2022.

The decision has been attributed to high fees charged by Visa for transactions on Amazon, negatively impacting businesses selling their products through the online shopping platform.

A spokesperson for the retail giant told IT Pro that the costs “should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead they continue to stay high or even rise”.

“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,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company “will continue innovating on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment options to our stores across the globe”.

This means that next month’s holiday shopping might be the last opportunity for UK Amazon customers to pay using their Visa credit cards.

Visa debit cards will continue to be accepted after the date, alongside any other non-Visa credit cards, including Mastercard, Amex, and Eurocard. The retail giant has contacted customers asking them to update their default payment method with an eligible payment method through Amazon’s ''manage your subscription'' page.

A Visa spokesperson said that the company is “very disappointed” in Amazon’s decision, accusing the company of “threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future”.

As Visa is one of the two most popular card issuers in the UK, alongside Mastercard, the restriction could result in consumers and businesses alike finding it difficult to pay for products sold on Amazon.co.uk, being forced to either pay using debit cards or to find a different provider.

“When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins,” the spokesperson told IT Pro, adding that Visa is working to resolve the issue in order to allow its cardholders to “use their preferred Visa credit cards at Amazon UK without Amazon-imposed restrictions come January 2022”.

The news comes as another blow to Visa, which in September was criticised for not taking responsibility for a flaw which allowed its Apple Pay payment cards to be charged without the owner’s consent when set to Apple’s express transit mode.