Comment on Amazon’s Refusal to Accept UK Visa Cards

By James Bay, Customer Service Director at STICPAY

“The recent announcement that Amazon will stop accepting UK Visa cards from Jan 2022 is just the tip of the iceberg. The reason given is the increase in merchant fees, which are set to rise in the UK following Brexit. For a global enterprise, such as Amazon to take such a stance is unusual and highlights the scale of the issue. Small and independent retailers will be faced with the same charges, but they don’t have the luxury of being able to refuse payments from such a ubiquitous source. If they try to pass the increased fees onto their customers, they risk losing sales to the retail giants who are more able to absorb.

“Visa has long held a privileged position in the world of cashless payments and should be rewarding its loyal merchant partners rather than seeking to make even greater profits from them.

“However, the payments world is changing fast. Advances in FinTech, mean that there are an increasing number of digital payment options available to consumers, and their capabilities are being enhanced all the time. Digital payment wallets, such as STICPAY, charge no or extremely low transaction fees and the payments are at least as secure as using a Visa card and as immediate. Customers are switching to digital payment methods in increasing numbers. With greater consumer choice available the future is bleak for companies who take advantage of their customers.”