LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - A row broke out on Wednesday between Amazon and Visa after the online retail giant told customers that it would stop accepting payments made with UK-issued Visa credit cards from next year.


In an email sent to customers, Amazon cited Visa's "high fees" for processing payments. The retailer said it would continue to accept Visa debit cards and other credit cards, including Mastercard and American Express, but acknowledged that the change would be "inconvenient" for some customers.

"The cost of accepting card payments is an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers," said an Amazon spokesperson.

"These 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 will no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards."

Payments on cards attract a range of fees including interchange fees and other transaction charges.

Interchange fees are typically a percentage of the cost of the transaction, and are higher for credit card transactions, and for those where purchases are made remotely, including online sales, although there are caps on payments within the UK.

Visa said it was "very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future".

"When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins. We have a longstanding relationship with Amazon, and we continue to work toward a resolution, so our cardholders can use their preferred Visa credit cards at Amazon UK without Amazon-imposed restrictions come January 2022."

Visa lifted its credit fees after Brexit once it was no longer bound by an EU-enforced cap on charges.

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