Amazon will stop accepting payments by UK VISA credit cards in 2022

crunchman

Just sent this in an email to Amazon's complaints department:

I am very unhappy with your decision to refuse to take Visa credit cards from Jan 19th.

I will not use a debit card online, as I have far less protection, and I am not going to take out another credit card just to use Amazon.

Worse still, this seems to be an abuse of Amazon's market position and effective monopoly.  The Amazon credit card is provided by Mastercard, and this seems to be a blatant abuse of your position to get people to take out one of your Mastercard cards.

If you do not change your mind, we will cancel our Prime subscription, and we will no longer shop with Amazon.

I am also planning to write to my MP because of abuse of your dominant market position.

I might be turning into an old man shouting at a cloud, but if enough people do the same, it might make a difference.

RaymondLin

My experience with Amex is very different to you guys.  I have been using Amex pretty much exclusively for the past 10 years, I can list the places that I need another credit card with 1 hand.

1 - My mechanic
2 - Churchill car Insurance
3 - Car tax

That's pretty much it, there are places online that doesn't but they take Paypal...I link my Amex card as main payment on Paypal to get around that.

So this way I put Amex through basically everything.  Sainsbury's take it, Waitrose take it, buying flights with it.  I was in Singapore and I used it everywhere there too.

I also have a Master card, just in case, but rarely use that.

docbaker

Simple - boycott amazon, I confess to having used them once or twice many years ago, but I have felt no loss since then, as they continue to hoover up local economies and communities.

What did we do before same and next day delivery?  The world could do with slowing down, and perhaps rediscovering making do ..

digitalscream

digitalscream said:

I strongly suspect this isn't going to happen. Maybe consider the possibility that this is basically Amazon flexing for negotiations on lower transaction fees.

Give it a few weeks, there'll be another announcement walking it back.

Amazon have enough clout that VISA will back down.

Well, would you look at that...just had an email:

"The expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will no longer take place on January 19. We are working closely with Visa on a potential solution that will enable customers to continue using their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk. " 

wolsnah

It's not surprising really, it all seemed to be a posturing exercise. I, like a few others I know and @crunchman above, was just going to let my card and date lapse and start purchasing through alternative sources. I'll likely still do that more anyway and look more for local businesses with a web presence and purchase through them to give them a bit more support.

HerrMetal

Yes same email received here. I was not going to change my payment method so they would have lost me as a customer.

Jalapeno

Blaendulais said:

Visa upped their rate after we left the EU as an EU law didnt apply.  If Amazon stayed with them they would simply pass the cost on to customers.  Simple economics.  Not Oh no Amazon are the bad guy.

This.  Amzon are the people's friend, and they stamped on evil Visa !

( corporate posturing pure and simple)

mrkb

Suspect they’ve already achieved their objective. I took out an Amazon credit card as it seemed the best alternative (£30 signup credit and good cash back on Amazon purchases), so Amazon credit card uptake/usage will have increased which was probably one of their aims.

Whitecat

Well colour me shocked

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/17/amazon-and-visa-end-game-of-corporate-chicken-over-uk-credit-cards

Offset

RaymondLin said:

My experience with Amex is very different to you guys.  I have been using Amex pretty much exclusively for the past 10 years, I can list the places that I need another credit card with 1 hand.

1 - My mechanic
2 - Churchill car Insurance
3 - Car tax

That's pretty much it, there are places online that doesn't but they take Paypal...I link my Amex card as main payment on Paypal to get around that.

So this way I put Amex through basically everything.  Sainsbury's take it, Waitrose take it, buying flights with it.  I was in Singapore and I used it everywhere there too.

I also have a Master card, just in case, but rarely use that.

My experience is the same as yours.  Generally it's only the smaller businesses (like ours, I might add!) which don't take it these days.  I've had my Amex card for 33 years and I use it everywhere that takes it.

bertie

all change
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60022166

Philtre

Hopefully Bezos will now be able to afford an even bigger penis rocket.

boogieman

mrkb said:

Suspect they’ve already achieved their objective. I took out an Amazon credit card as it seemed the best alternative (£30 signup credit and good cash back on Amazon purchases), so Amazon credit card uptake/usage will have increased which was probably one of their aims.

You were done, we got £40. I’ll switch back to using our old Visa card now I’ve used up the free gift.