Amazon users were informed this week that beginning Jan. 19, they can no longer use U.K.-issued Visa credit cards to make purchases due to the high fees charged by the payment processor, according to multiple reports.
The pushback by Amazon is the latest is a series of pushbacks by retailers over transaction fees levied by payment networks like Visa.
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Customers are able to use Visa debit cards, Mastercards and American Express credit cards in addition to Visa credit cards issued outside of the U.K., per reports.
“The cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers,” a spokesperson for Amazon said, per Bloomberg. “These costs should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead they continue to stay high or even rise.”
Read more: Making Contactless Payments Acceptance Affordable and Flexible for European Merchants
Card fees have been a bone of contention among Visa and Mastercard and its merchants, banks and payment networks. Retailers have taken issue with the billions they spend to accept electronic payments, with fees that have continued to climb and are even higher when customers use premium cards, which have even higher interchange rates.
A Visa spokesperson said the company was “very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future. When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins.”
The spokesperson added, “We have a long-standing relationship with Amazon, and we continue to work toward a resolution.”
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