Amazon to Stop Accepting Visa Credit Cards in UK
Amazon.com Inc. said it will stop accepting Visa Inc. credit cards in the U.K. because of high charges by Visa, in a spat highlighting continuing tensions between retailers and payment processors over fees.
Amazon told customers it won’t take credit cards issued by Visa in the U.K. as of Jan. 19, “due to the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions.” A spokesman said card payment costs keep customers from getting better prices and that those costs shouldn’t be staying high or rising even as technology improves.
Visa said it is trying to resolve the situation so that the customers could keep using their credit cards after the January deadline “without Amazon-imposed restrictions.” It said it was disappointed customer choice was under threat.
Amazon is offering some affected customers £20 ($26.86) off a purchase to encourage them to update their payment method to another type of credit card or a Visa debit card.