Amazon no longer accepting Visa credit cards from January 2022 - WTF?

[peanuts87]

AIBU to think this is madness? They're going to inconvenience so many of their customers. Still, it's good incentive to stop using Amazon I suppose!

www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-stop-accepting-visa-credit-cards-issued-uk-bloomberg-news-2021-11-17/

[quote Changemusthappen]Just to point out, in case posters don't know, using a credit card to pay for goods and services gives you much better protection that a debit card. Have a look here:

www.money.co.uk/guides/when-to-use-your-credit-card-or-debit-card.htm[/quote]
Only if the item is over £100, for smaller purchases it makes no odds protection wise.

@user0176

I’ve never had a credit card either (and I have a mortgage so my credit rating is fine). However I do shop with Amazon. I use my debit card and have shopped with them for years without an issue. Any order problems and they are quick to resolve. I never order the too good to be true bargains from overseas that I see on the bargain threads though which probably helps.

Funnily enough the only time I've been a victim of financial fraud it was via Amazon, the good thing about a credit card is that none of my actual cash was used, if it was my debit card a large sum of cash would have been taken from me and I'd have had to have waited for it to be put back, rather than just a hold on my credit card that only needed releasing when established as fraud.

Using a debit card online is a higher risk than credit card, even on "legitimate" sites like Amazon. Not a risk I'm willing to take. That's why I keep so little cash in my debit accounts (I transfer the money to less accessible savings accounts) so if I do somehow fall victim or card gets stolen etc I at least don't have much actual money there to be taken. As such I buy almost everything by credit card and get lots of lovely bonuses like free days out through tesco vouchers!

You only need to enter your card details once and they’re stored securely on Amazon. Even when you order from a third party seller you don’t need to re-enter card details so I’m not sure how they took money from you. Or did someone hack into your Amazon account and order stuff?

That’s why I use PayPal elsewhere.

My NatWest account used to have both a MasterCard and a visa on the same account. Always seemed a bit strange but also useful. They switched to MasterCard only recently.

most likely visa will cave

My work credit card is Visa, so this could cause us problems as we buy a lot of ad hoc things though Amazon.

I read somewhere that Visa have upped their charges because we are no longer in the EU (which capped their prices). If that's the case I'm not sure that Amazon are being the "bully" here. Visa are are upping their charges just because they can get away with it because were no longer in the EU and Amazon are pushing back which is not a bad thing for UK consumers.

@breadrollz

most likely visa will cave

Or might they pull out of the UK market completely? If the choice is not being used by major retailers, operating at a loss/lower charges than they would like to make or ditching us completely and using the capacity to expand their market somewhere else, might they do that instead?

How do you get the £20 credit?

@BarbaraofSeville they could, I just think they will come to a special deal. I'm not sure it's worth giving that slice of the pie to competitors

I've just done it (thanks to whoever mentioned it). There was a link in the email (I think) or in your Amazon home page.

I now have £20 to spend with Amazon within the next month, completely free.

I tried to get the £20 but it said I had already had the offer after I had put my card on, I do recall getting something a few months ago, I then found the £10 offer so put another Mastercard on so I have now ended up with 3 cards on there

@Belladonna12

I read somewhere that Visa have upped their charges because we are no longer in the EU (which capped their prices). If that's the case I'm not sure that Amazon are being the "bully" here. Visa are are upping their charges just because they can get away with it because were no longer in the EU and Amazon are pushing back which is not a bad thing for UK consumers.

According to the BBC -

"Amazon and Visa said any changes in fees had nothing to do with Brexit."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59306200

You only need to enter your card details once and they’re stored securely on Amazon. Even when you order from a third party seller you don’t need to re-enter card details so I’m not sure how they took money from you. Or did someone hack into your Amazon account and order stuff?* That’s why I use PayPal elsewhere.*

That's the case for most websites, but it doesn't mean they're secure, companies are hacked daily (thankfully they fend off most of them!) My individual account wasn't hacked, the threshold for investigation wasn't met so we'll never know but all I can say is it's much less faff being a victim of financial fraud with a credit card than it is a debit!

Amazon and Visa said any changes in fees had nothing to do with Brexit.

I find that hard to believe. A few years ago, card fees were reduced due to EU rules, and now we're not in the EU, they can probably up their fees.

We can probably expect to see more of this. We had a lot of consumer protection advantages due to being in the EU like lack of mobile phone roaming charges or being able to buy from European websites without customs charges, but these don't have to apply now we're outside the EU.

I have a nationwide visa cc, due to expire in january, hopefully they will change it to mastercard but I’ve heard nothing. Haven’t even had an email from Amazon yet about the change. I don’t want to go to the bother of getting a second credit card only for nationwide to change to mastercard. And there is certain stuff I can only get on Amazon, as where I live, a lot of shops have closed down. So if Nationwide dont change by the deadline I’ll have to borrow DHs mastercard for my purchases or buy amazon gift vouchers for myself! (in a brick and mortar shop I mean)

@YesNoWhoCares

I'm more pissed off that yesterday there was an offer of £10 for adding a second card which I then left thinking I would do it later and now it's gone. I might wait and see if there is another offer before putting my Mastercard on there

Just be warned. I did that, didn't get the £10 then Amazon 'computer says no' customer service just shrugged because I didn't have a screen grab of the offer. Who bothers to screengrab and doesn't just think the retailer will honour it??

@HeatingOnHeatingOff

I dont think visa credit cards are that common?

I always thought the majority of credit cards were mastercard

Barclaycard have them as standard don't they? I know Lloyds recently abandoned AMEX for some reason I forget, so it does mean the market is being forced down a certain route. I avoid using debit card online because there is less consumer protection.

I have both visa and mastercard credit cards so its not a problem for me, but it does piss me off.

If anyone wants a new MasterCard credit card Royal Bank of Scotland have one which gives cash back on purchases so you make money as you spend.

We use it for day to day purchases instead of a debit card & pay it off every month.

@Chimley, I didn't get the £20 that others seemed to get, computer said no but did get the £10 one which I found again, I did wonder if I had used the £20 one in the past

What is wrong with debit cards? What am I missing?

I only have visa debit cards?

Barclaycard has been Visa forever, years ago I'm sure you could either get Barclaycard Visa or Access Mastercard. Visa was like part of the Barclaycard branding

@Chakraleaf

What is wrong with debit cards? What am I missing?

I only have visa debit cards?

If you use the card linked to your main account and it gets hacked, you risk losing access to this for all your other spending, which will be an inconvenience. Also your direct debits could get stopped, with knock on effects.

Sometimes retailers 'double reserve' funds, leaving you unable to buy essentials or direct debits bounce due to lack of funds.

There are also lots of advantages to credit cards that you're giving up by not using them, like purchase protection, cashback free cashflow management, credit history improvement, the latter two are seen as a good thing by banks, as opposed to overdraft use, which costs money and banks think is a sign of poor money management.

I agree, it's a good incentive to use Amazon less. This is going to help me in that endeavour. I wouldn't be suprised if this is revoked before the due date; given the astronomical power yielded by Amazon.

@BarbaraofSeville

Amazon and Visa said any changes in fees had nothing to do with Brexit.

I find that hard to believe. A few years ago, card fees were reduced due to EU rules, and now we're not in the EU, they can probably up their fees.

We can probably expect to see more of this. We had a lot of consumer protection advantages due to being in the EU like lack of mobile phone roaming charges or being able to buy from European websites without customs charges, but these don't have to apply now we're outside the EU.

What would Visa and Amazon have to gain from lying about it if it was due to Brexit?

I have an Amazon credit card. I got it a couple of years ago when I got fed up with the fact that my First Direct credit card, which I'd had for years, gave me 0 perks. I regularly get £10 gift cards which are added to my account.