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Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

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Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#191

Post by refurb »

mission_failed wrote: post #23

Amazon Australia started charging fees to pay via Visa starting this month. No fees for Amex or mastercard.

Not that it’s a big market but Amazon Singapore had also added a fee to visa transactions starting last month.

I assume Amazon tried to leverage the tens of billions in purchases (across regions) to get a better fee structure from Visa and Visa said “no”.

No different than Costco dropping their long-standing Amex agreement in favor of Visa in the US a fewer years back.

“Kill the chickens to teach the monkeys” as they say in Singapore.

Now other companies know Visa is willing to tell the likes of Amazon “no”. Lesser companies won’t even ask.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#192

Post by Xophmeister »

gambiting wrote: post #85
mrec wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most people buying stuff on Amazon would be using a debit card, folks only really use credit cards for large purchases Huh? I'm in the UK, have been an Amazon customer for over 20 years and have always used a credit card for everything. I didn't even know you could use a debit card, and can't see any reason you'd want to. Paid off in full every month, better consumer protection, what's not to like?

You must be an actual anomaly, like yeah, what you are saying makes sense, but you are the only person I've ever heard about who does that here in UK. Everyone I know, me included, just uses debit cards for purchases everywhere including Amazon. I have a credit card but I very very very rarely use it for anything.

Another UK credit card user chiming in. I hardly ever use my debit card.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#193

Post by lmm »

gambiting wrote: post #145
throwaway287391 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have a credit card but I very very very rarely use it for anything. But why? The credit card is strictly better isn't it? I thought the main reason people used debit cards was that they got one automatically with their checking account and just never bothered to apply for a CC, but that's not the issue for you.

I don't know, when I use my debit card it just goes out of my main account, done, don't have to worry about it. On my credit card I'll have bigger purchases I made some time ago and I'm working towards paying them off - if I put all my monthly purchases there too, I'd lose track of how much of that I need to pay off monthly and how much I've got left on my main account. And yes, it can be easily worked out but I gues…

> And for purchases under £100, credit cards offer no additional protection whatsoever, so for my daily shopping I'd just be making my life more difficult for no reason.

They offer better protection against fraudulent charges though? If your card gets skimmed it doesn't matter whether you were paying £5 or £5000.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#194

Post by deadbunny »

t0mas88 wrote: post #83
IanCal wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think visa are increasing their fees from 0.3% (EU regs) to 1.5% here.

But that EU limit is for debit cards right? And Amazon is excluding the credit cards while still accepting visa debit.

Unfortunately the UK is no longer in the EU.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#195

Post by tchalla »

3guk wrote: post #158
Cu3PO42 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Germany, we have our own debit card scheme called 'girocard' owned jointly by a group of German banks that has very low fees. Unfortunately, this card does not work for online payments, which has lead to PayPal being extremely popular. Other solutions, some national, some international exist as well, but have comparatively high fees. Amazon Germany allows users to pay via SEPA direct debit from any European bank a…

Oh don't get me started with the EC card shenanigans - I've had so many problems in Munich with shops demanding an EC card as the only form of card accepted. Drives me crazy that in some cases it's either that (which is unavailable to non German residents) or cash....

There's a reason for those so called "shenanigans".

The merchant fees for EC card are the lowest amongst all cards. Pretty much all banks issue EC cards. Earlier, merchant fees could not be passed along to the consumer. Earlier this year, a change in regulation meant these fees would now be passed on to the consumer [0].

I foresee a future where there will be two prices (1) Payment w/o credit card and (2) Payment with EC card. I don't see why EC card owners should bear the costs of people who want to use credit card as a convenience.

[0] https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/banken-versicherungen/...

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#196

Post by jbb67 »

I have a visa credit card and received this email. I don't want to use my debit card with amazon particularly.

You get a few added protections by purchasing with a credit card, and a mistake can't drain my current account in the same way as it could with a debit card, plus I get the benefits of a month or two credit for "free".

If I'm "forced" to use my debit card, I'll have to for essential purchases but this means that I likely won't be buying much more from amazon in the immediate future where I can find an alternative.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#197

Post by leoedin »

reallydontask wrote: post #93
gambiting wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must be an actual anomaly, like yeah, what you are saying makes sense, but you are the only person I've ever heard about who does that here in UK. Everyone I know, me included, just uses debit cards for purchases everywhere including Amazon. I have a credit card but I very very very rarely use it for anything.

>Everyone I know, me included, just uses debit cards for purchases everywhere including Amazon. This is just as anecdotal as GP or indeed myself. I never use a debit card and don't know anybody that uses them other than for getting cash out of an ATM

How old are you? People using credit cards in my circle (early 30s, London) are firmly the minority. If we split a bill in a restaurant it's all debit cards. Maybe there's one person with an amex or something.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#198

Post by pishpash »

lmilcin wrote: post #148
barrkel wrote: post #2

I cannot believe that Visa transaction overhead would be higher than Amex - there's something going on behind the scenes here. I don't think this is the end of it either, it smells like a negotiation threat. Visa have a larger market share overall (80%, including debit cards [1]) but Mastercard leads in credit cards. Amex has always been fairly niche because it's not accepted everywhere. [1] https://www.statista.com/…

> Visa have a larger market share overall (80%, including debit cards [1]) but Mastercard leads in credit cards. I worked in credit card payments (on acquiring side). Any market share advantage between Visa and Mastercard is very, very fragile. It is basically your choice which card to pull out for payment. It is also why Visa and Mastercard these are so alike almost in every aspect. When one does something, the othe…

I've understood Visa and Mastercard to share some kind of relationship but cannot find the source any more.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#199

Post by Jansen312 »

jbb67 wrote: post #196

I have a visa credit card and received this email. I don't want to use my debit card with amazon particularly. You get a few added protections by purchasing with a credit card, and a mistake can't drain my current account in the same way as it could with a debit card, plus I get the benefits of a month or two credit for "free". If I'm "forced" to use my debit card, I'll have to for essential purchases but this means…

For everything else there is master card.

Re: Amazon to stop accepting UK Visa credit cards

#200

Post by deadbunny »

danuker wrote: post #153
viktorcode wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case it's a consequence of Brexit. In European economic area those fees are capped pretty low.

How so? Did leaving EU imply giving up laws already adopted while in the EU?

When the UK left the EU all EU laws previously put into UK law remained in place. Now the UK has left they can repeal those laws as they choose.
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