Amazon u-turns on decision to ban use of UK Visa credit cards on website

Online retail giant Amazon has reversed its decision to ban customers using UK Visa credit cards on its website - but did not rule out a future ban.

The online retailer had been expecting to introduce the changes from Wednesday, but these have been put on hold while Amazon and Visa work to resolve the issue.

Amazon said it made the original decision to block Visa credit cards due to “the high fees Visa charge for processing credit card transactions”.

On Monday, an Amazon spokesperson said: “The expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will no longer take place on January 19.

“We are working closely with Visa on a potential solution that will enable customers to continue using their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk.”

A Visa spokesperson added: “Amazon customers can continue to use Visa cards on Amazon.co.uk after January 19 while we work closely together to reach an agreement.”

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) previously said it had been in contact with Amazon and the big card schemes while the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claimed previously that scheme fees charged by card providers had soared in recent years.