MILLIONS of UK-based Amazon customers will be left in the lurch from January next year as the delivery giant has announced it will no longer accept payments from Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom due to high transaction fees.
Customers will still be able to pay with Visa debit cards and non-Visa credit cards, including Mastercard and American Express.
A spokesman for Amazon said: "The cost of accepting card payments is 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 will no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards."
The change in policy, initially reported by Bloomberg News, is expected to affect millions of customers in the UK.
Those using credit cards from HSBC or Barclaycard will have to update their account details in the new year if they wish to continue using the delivery giant’s services.
Amazon reaffirmed its commitment — seen as the core of its competitive advantage — to providing customers with the best prices.
“With the rapidly changing payments landscape around the world, we will continue innovating on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment options to our stores across the globe”, a spokesperson said.
The change follows Amazon’s decision announced earlier this year to implement a 0.5 per cent surcharge to Visa credit card purchases in Singapore and Australia.
