UK VISA Credit Cards to Join PayPal in Being Blocked by Amazon
Amazon have announced that they will no longer accept online payments via VISA credit cards from 1st January 2022. Amazon will continue to accept payments on Visa debit cards though as well as other credit cards including Maestro, Mastercard and American Express. Amazon stated that the cost of processing payments on the cards makes it too expensive to support them. It is for the same reason why Amazon do not accept PayPal payments.
As an incentive to customers, Amazon are offering their customers £10-£20 to switch from a Visa credit card to another form of payment.
Although Amazon will still accept payments via Visa debit cards, customers are concerned as debit cards offer a lot less protection to consumers compared with credit cards. Although some commentators have called the move by Amazon as ‘posturing’, money expert Martin Lewis has advised customers to take Amazon’s money and switch to a new card. Lewis also suggested using Amazon’s own Mastercard which is operated by NewDay.
Despite being owned by the richest man in the world, Amazon still do everything they can to ensure that their operating costs remain as low as possible. PayPal payments are not accepted on Amazon either, despite PayPal being the most popular payment method on the market, used by millions of online consumers worldwide.
Will PayPal Be Accepted by Amazon in the Future?
As it stands it is unlikely that Amazon will begin accepting payments via PayPal. The reason why? They don’t have to. PayPal will charge higher rates than other payment methods and Amazon can simply rely on their customers using credit cards. PayPal payments are accepted at a multitude of online websites ranging from consumer and ecommerce sites to online casinos which make available PayPal slots to their customers.
However, unless either PayPal lower their fees or if Amazon encounter problems with other payment methods, it is extremely unlikely that PayPal will be accepted. Perhaps if Jeff Bezos purchases PayPal then we might see PayPal purchases accepted!
What Are the Expected Consequences of the VISA Credit Card Ban?
It is difficult to say, but like Martin Lewis suggested, this could simply be a game of high stakes chicken to see which caves in first. Whilst Amazon will likely suffer some consequences of taking away Visa credit cards – consumers may go elsewhere – Visa will also be hit as consumers will not be purchasing their Amazon products with the Visa credit card.
In the end though, consumers will determine whether or not Amazon’s decision is correct or not. The head honchos at Amazon obviously believe that their customers will simply switch to other credit cards. This could also be a ploy to try to encourage more consumers to purchase the Amazon credit card.
We will be sure to update you with any news concerning Amazon and VISA, as this story is likely to have a few twists and turns before it is settled.