Amazon Backs Down on Banning Visa Credit Cards in UK

Amazon has reportedly backtracked on a previous statement that it would not be accepting visa credit cards in the UK from January 19.

Breitbart News reported in November that e-commerce giant Amazon announced plans to stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK due to high fees. Amazon told certain customers that from January 19, 2022 onward, the site would no longer be accepting Visa credit cards issued in Britain “due to the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy (Isaac Brekken/AP)

Now, Engadget reports that the company has reversed this decision, telling customers that it will continue to accept Visa cards for now. An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement: “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.”

Amazon previously accused Visa of charging extremely high credit card transaction fees, forcing the company to no longer accept the payment method. Visa claimed that Amazon was “threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future,” by refusing to accept the cards.

Both firms said that they were actively trying to work towards a solution in order to better serve customers. Amazon has not elaborated on why it chose to reverse the decision, whether or not the reversal is a result of negotiations between the company is unknown.

It appears that UK customers will be able to continue using their Visa credit cards on the site for now. Breitbart News will continue to report on the situation as further developments take place.