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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Levi Winchester

Amazon suspends plans to stop accepting Visa credit card payments from this week

Amazon has confirmed it will still accept Visa credit cards issued in the UK as a form of payment beyond this week.

The online retailer had been due to stop allowing this type of transaction from Wednesday, January 19 in a row linked to "high fees" charged by Visa.

But it has now said it was "working closely with Visa on a potential solution" in an email sent out to customers this morning.

The email from Amazon reads: "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."

The move would affect Visa credit cards issued in the UK (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Amazon has not confirmed whether the issue has been fully resolved but said it will continue to update customers.

It added: "Should we make any changes related to Visa credit cards, we will give you advance notice."

Some customers had been offered £20 credit by Amazon to switch to a new card payment method.

Visa - which is the biggest issuer of debit cards in the UK – faced backlash from Amazon after it confirmed plans to increase interchange fees in March.

This saw its rate shoot up from 0.3% to 1.5% for online credit card payments, and for debit card transactions, the rate rose from 0.2% to 1.15%.

Data experts from OnePoll had previously warned how Amazon could face losing nearly £1.4billion from UK shoppers if it blocked Visa credit card payments.

Are you happy to see Amazon keep accepting Visa credit cards? Let us know in the comments section below.

A study of 2,000 adults found that 13% intend to either slash the amount of their purchases, or totally quit buying from the corporation.

Amazon has around 48 million UK customers and first confirmed it would ban Visa credit card payments back in November 2021.

In a statement released this morning, Visa said: "Amazon customers can continue to use Visa cards on Amazon.co.uk after January 19 while we work closely together to reach an agreement."

David Beard, editor-in-chief and personal finance expert of financial comparison site, Lendingexpert.co.uk, said:“I’m not surprised Amazon has done a u-turn.

"Dictating to consumers how they can pay was an arrogant move by the retail giant.

“Amazon could have lost customers because they were forcing them to make a decision; either switch to pay with a debit card or apply for a new Mastercard."

Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “Amazon reversing its decision to ban Visa credit cards for now will be good news for many customers.

“But we would encourage Amazon and Visa to urgently find a long-term resolution to prevent any unnecessary inconvenience or restriction on consumer choice in future.

"There have been long-standing concerns about credit card fees that affect both consumers and businesses, so the regulator should urgently take forward its proposed work examining card fees."

There hadn't been any changes in the pipeline for Amazon customers using MasterCard and Amex credit cards.

Amazon users are also still able to use Visa debit cards as a form of payment, as well as Visa credit cards issued outside of the UK.

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