Amazon has announced it will stop accepting Visa card payments in the new year, citing “the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions.”
This change will initially only apply to Amazon UK, but has wider implications for customers of the tech giant.
Visa said it was “very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future”, while Amazon countered that “the cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers.”
“When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins,” said Visa.
Even rival Mastercard appears to be siding with Visa.
Mastercard’s executive vice chairman Ann Cairns, said: “It’s very important that customers have choice, and have the widest variety of ability to pay, whether that’s through cards or from their bank accounts or cash, and remember that it is never the consumer that pays fees.”
“We talk to Amazon all the time because obviously we are two big global businesses and Amazon is one of our top customers around the world.”
