Amazon Accepts Visa Credit Cards After Tiff Over Fees

Amazon.com Inc. has reached an agreement with Visa Inc. to accept its credit cards across its network, ending a standoff between the two that threatened to disrupt e-commerce payments and deal a blow to the US-based payments processor, Reuters reported.

Photo Insert: Visa and other payments cards have faced increased pressure about their fees as more shoppers have turned online during the pandemic.

Details of the deal were not disclosed but Visa and other payments cards have faced increased pressure about their fees as more shoppers have turned online during the pandemic.

The spat had highlighted the growing clout of retailers in the fee battle. Amazon had said in November it was considering dropping Visa as a partner on its US co-branded credit card after earlier confirming it would stop accepting Visa credit cards in the UK due to high transaction fees.

The agreement announced on Thursday means Amazon customers can continue using Visa credit cards in its stores, the e-commerce group said. Neither side disclosed what fees would be levied in future - an issue which came to the fore particularly in Britain after an EU-enforced cap on card fees is no longer in place following Brexit.

Last October, Visa began charging 1.5% of the transaction value for credit card payments made online or over the phone between the UK and EU, and 1.15% for debit card transactions, up from 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Average credit card processing fees across the industry range between 1.5% and 3.5%, according to analysts.

Retailers have in the past accepted credit card processing fees as an inevitable cost, but that could be changing due to innovations and increased consumer choice. Credit cards accounted for a third of North American e-commerce spending in 2020, according to WorldPay, but mobile payment options like Venmo and "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) financing plans are gaining ground.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic