Amazon will accept Visa credit cards worldwide afetr signing truce

Amazon and Visa have settled their long-standing fued, meaning customers across the world will be able to use Visa credit cards to pay for their ecommerce purchases.

The news follows several months of wrangling that had raised the possibility of Visa cards being blocked on Amazon.

“We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “Amazon remains committed to offering customers a payment experience that is convenient and offers choice.”

Amazon Visa truce

“Visa is pleased to have reached a broad, global agreement with Amazon,” a Visa spokesperson added. “This agreement includes the acceptance of Visa at all Amazon stores and sites today, as well as a joint commitment to collaboration on new product and technology initiatives to ensure innovative payment experiences for our customers in the future.”

The battle had begun in November 2021, when Amazon said it would stop accepting Visa cards in the UK following a move by the latter to charge higher purchase fees following the country’s decision to leave the European Union.

This issue appeared to have been solved after a January 2022 U-turn by Amazon just days before a ban was due to come into place, but questions had been raised about other markets such as Australia and Singapore.

Amazon had imposed charges on Visa customers in some countries within the last few months, including a 0.5% surcharge on Visa credit card purchases on its Singapore website back in September 2021, which was followed shortly by similar surcharges on Visa transactions in Australia.

Visa and its rival Mastercard are the two major payment networks that dictate the rates merchants pay in swipe fees. The majority of those fees go to the banks, but Visa has long been criticized for the way it calculates these rates. 

In the UK, Visa began charging an extra 1.5% on cross-border payments between the UK and EU, given that the EU-enforced cap on fees no longer existed after Brexit.

Amazon has a much closer relationship with Mastercard, launching the Amazon Platinum Mastercard back in 2017, offering customers rewards and money back when they buy on the site.

Via Reuters