Amazon customers have been told they will still be able to use Visa credit cards on its UK website, after warning in November that from this Wednesday they would no longer be accepted.
The two companies had been engaged in ‘a game of corporate chicken’ over Visa’s cross-border interchange fees, which had risen after the UK left the EU.
This morning Amazon told its Visa credit card holding customers that it was “working closely with Visa on a potential solution” to the block, details of which have not been disclosed.
Customers were told they would still be able to use their cards. The communication noted that “should we make any changes” customers would be given “advanced notice”.
A Visa spokeswoman told The Grocer that the two companies would “work closely together to reach an agreement”.
The disagreement stems from Visa’s decision to increase cross-border card fees after Brexit. Free from EU regulation that capped these fees at 0.3% for credit cards, both Visa and Mastercard increased fees to 1.5% for credit cards, in line with the fees paid on purchases by non-EU customers buying from EU businesses.
Since Amazon processes UK purchase payments in the EU, it faced significant credit card purchase fees as a result.
The details of the 11th hour agreement are not yet known.
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