Amazon has announced that it will no longer accept Visa credit cards as a form of payment in the UK from January 2022. The retail giant confirmed the news in an email to customers, saying the decision was made due to “the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions”. Visa debit cards will continue to be accepted.
When will Amazon stop accepting Visa credit cards?
The change will come into effect from 19 January 2022. Customers can continue to use Visa credit cards for Amazon purchases up until then. After this date, Visa credit cards will no longer be a supported payment option.
Why is Amazon going to stop accepting Visa credit cards?
Amazon has stated that the decision was based on the rising transaction fees which Visa is charging. A spokesperson for the brand explained that “the cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers”.
“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.co.uk will no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards as of January 19 2022”.
Meanwhile, Visa said in a statement it was "very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future. When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins”. It said that it would attempt to resolve the dispute to honour its “long-standing relationship with Amazon".
Visa claims that, on average, its transaction fees amount to less than 0.1% of the value of a purchase.
How will the change affect your Amazon purchases?
If you’re using a credit card
If you’re using a Visa credit card to make purchases on Amazon, you’ll have up until 19 January 2022 to do so, after which point you’ll need to select an alternative payment method. Other credit cards, including Mastercard and American Express, are still available and will continue to be accepted beyond this date.
If you’re using a debit card
If you’re using a Visa debit card to make purchases on Amazon, you won’t see any changes at all, and can continue making purchases as normal. Other debit cards are still available and will continue to be accepted beyond 19 January 2022.
Alternatives to a Visa credit card
If you're looking for an alternative credit card to use for Amazon purchases, check out the following articles:
