Amazon dropped its threat to stop accepting Visa cards across its global operations after it reached an agreement with the card scheme. In January, Amazon deferred previously unveiled its plans to stop accepting Visa card payments in the United Kingdom due to what it termed to be punchy charges for processing credit card transactions in post-Brexit Britain.
All these plans have now been dropped entirely after Amazon’s agreement with Visa. Furthermore, Amazon will drop a 0.5% surcharge on Visa credit card transactions in Australia and Singapore, which the company introduced in 2021.
Taking Amazon’s pulling power into consideration, the online giant may have been given new terms by Visa concerning scheme charges. Amazon said in a statement:
“We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores. Amazon remains committed to offering customers a payment experience that is convenient and offers choice.”
Visa said that its agreement with Amazon would see the two work together on:
“New product and technology initiatives to ensure innovative payment experiences for our customers in the future.”
For the director of product marketing at GoCardless, Siamac Rezaiezadeh, this agreement reflects the waning ability of the global card schemes to set aggressive payment terms, as the consumers move to many other ‘digital-first’ payment methods. He said:
“As this chapter of the Amazon and Visa feud closes, it’s important to keep one eye on the bigger picture: businesses are now pushing back against unfavorable terms, ones they historically had little choice but to accept. The landscape has now changed dramatically with the rise of BNPL and open banking-enabled payments, both of which are increasingly popular with consumers. This gives businesses a genuine alternative to the card schemes.”
