The Lemon Fool

Just got an email from Amazon stating that as from January they will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK because of the high fees they charge. Quite a bold move...

Scott.

I have just received the same email. The change is "due to the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card transactions".
As a sweetener they are offering £20 of your next purchase when you change your Visa card to something else (Master Card, Debit card etc).

I am surprised Visa can afford to loose this volume of business, I imagine a climb down is to be expected in quick order.

You could see it as a negotiating tactic.

BTW I didn't get the £20 offer.

Scott.

Quick update - I followed the email link and entered my Mastercard details as requested. This triggered another email with a "click to apply" £20 credit link. I now have £20 credit showing up in my account. Expiry is the 17th December 2021 and it does seem to be limited to certain products - mainly those sold by Amazon rather than those sold by third parties.

no £20 for me either
GRRRR
my default card was already a Mastercard

It's using Visa in the UK.

Amazon offers their own branded credit card. In the UK it's run by MasterCard, while in the US it's run by Visa.
As said,I think that this may hurt Visa. Then again the UK is fairly small compared to the rest of the world.

swill453 wrote:Just got an email from Amazon stating that as from January they will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK because of the high fees they charge. .

I don't know whether it's connected, but Visa seems to be losing market share in the UK. If you click on one of those "check your credit" sites or emails and are offered details of new credit cards, invariably they are Mastercard based.

Historically Visa was Barclaycard, probably the first mass market card. Certainly some years before the other banks launched Access to catch up.

Has Visa been trying to jack up its interchange fees? Both Visa and MC historically had low interchange fees in the UK, relative to what they charge in the US. That is why welcome bonuses, cashback and point/mile earning rates on UK cards are low compared to what you get in the US.

Whereas Amex always had high fees, which is why they are less well accepted in the UK.

I bet Mastercard is watching to see who wins this battle.

Lootman wrote: That is why welcome bonuses, cashback and point/mile earning rates on UK cards are low compared to what you get in the US.

Didn't the EU restrict fees a few years ago? That slashed some of the incentives, cashbacks and bonus schemes on offer.

Amazon have just offered me, and I’ve accepted, an Amazon Platinum Mastercard which gives a upfront £40 Amazon credit plus Amazon points worth 1.5% on anything spent at Amazon, plus 0.25% on any other spending on the card. As my Barclaycard gives 0.5% on any spending I’ll continue to use that elsewhere.

pje16 wrote:no £20 for me either
GRRRR
my default card was already a Mastercard

Me too. I guess changing the card to Visa then waiting for them to offer £20 to change it back is unlikely to work!

First Direct and Natwest have also ditched Visa replacing them with Mastercard this year.

I have to wonder if when the last bank drops Visa, then Mastercard will hike their fees?

First Direct and Natwest have also ditched Visa replacing them with Mastercard this year.

Not sure that's correct.

My MBNA card is Visa but I bank at First Direct. Following Amazon email this morning I contacted First Direct to see if they offer a Mastercard but was told their card is a Visa one. Amazon seem to deliver to our house several times per week.

I might wait a week or so to see if Amazon/Visa sort themselves out before applying to MBNA for a Mastercard (they do both).

The odd thing is that they're still taking American Express, which would suggest that they are getting lower fees on AmEx than Visa. This despite the fact that a lot of businesses won't take AmEx due to their high fees compared to Visa and Mastercard.

Laughton wrote:Following Amazon email this morning I contacted First Direct to see if they offer a Mastercard but was told their card is a Visa one.

Interesting. Their web site seems to go out of its way to avoid saying whether the credit card is Visa or Mastercard.

The debit card on the current account did recently change from Visa to Mastercard though.

Scott.

Laughton wrote:

First Direct and Natwest have also ditched Visa replacing them with Mastercard this year.

Not sure that's correct.

My MBNA card is Visa but I bank at First Direct. Following Amazon email this morning I contacted First Direct to see if they offer a Mastercard but was told their card is a Visa one. Amazon seem to deliver to our house several times per week.

I might wait a week or so to see if Amazon/Visa sort themselves out before applying to MBNA for a Mastercard (they do both).

I got a new FD DEBIT card a few months ago which has a mastercard Logo on it , and no number on the front of the card
but my FD credit card (expiry apr 2022) is till Visa

pje16 wrote:

Laughton wrote:

First Direct and Natwest have also ditched Visa replacing them with Mastercard this year.

Not sure that's correct.

My MBNA card is Visa but I bank at First Direct. Following Amazon email this morning I contacted First Direct to see if they offer a Mastercard but was told their card is a Visa one. Amazon seem to deliver to our house several times per week.

I might wait a week or so to see if Amazon/Visa sort themselves out before applying to MBNA for a Mastercard (they do both).

I got a new FD DEBIT card a few months ago which has a mastercard Logo on it , and no number on the front of the card
but my FD credit card (expiry apr 2022) is till Visa

is the number not clearly written on the back? It is on mine.


GS

Yes it has
I mentioned the front

It won't bother me because I never buy through Amazon, because of adverse experiences in the past relating to their intrusive behaviour.

SteelCamel wrote:The odd thing is that they're still taking American Express, which would suggest that they are getting lower fees on AmEx than Visa. This despite the fact that a lot of businesses won't take AmEx due to their high fees compared to Visa and Mastercard.

Might it not rather suggest that this isn't really about Visa transaction charges, but rather a stunt? Possibly (but only possibly) even connected with their being in bed with Mastercard?

Given Amazon's own charges, it seems a bit rich for Amazon to be blaming the effect on small vendors in the marketplace when interviewed on t'wireless.