According to the latest market analysis, the United Kingdom is the fourth largest market for ecommerce. Just last year, it experienced a growth increase of 12%, contributing to the worldwide growth rate of 29%. Global growth is expected to continue to increase over the next few years.
That being so, it comes as no surprise that Amazon and Visa were quick to iron out the details of their recent stand-off. After all, the crucial credit card-acceptance market was at stake. Last month, the two giants reportedly struck a deal that allows Visa card holders in the U.K. to continue using them for Amazon purchases.
The threat began at the end of last year when Amazon said they were going to stop taking Visa credit cards from consumers in the U.K. Nearly a month later, and just days before they intended to stop acceptance of the cards, an agreement was made and the threat was dropped.
At this time, the details on this new acceptance agreement are not immediately available. Attempts to secure comment from a spokesperson from Visa went unacknowledged, but Amazon responded to inquiries from Digital Transaction News.
“We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores, shared the spokesperson. “Amazon remains committed to offering customers a payment experience that is convenient and offers choice.”
One part of the deal, according to Amazon, is the agreement to stop charging a surcharge on Visa cards used by customers in Australia and New Zealand. As far as any other key details, experts say not to expect much. In revealing anymore, especially if Visa yielded any ground, others might decide to follow suit.
“If there were concessions, Visa wouldn’t want them to be public as it would encourage other retailers to seek concessions,” explains Eric Grover, principal at the consulting firm Intrepid Ventures.
All in all, this agreement is good news for U.K. Visa credit card users that enjoy their Amazon purchases. There will likely be more news on this in the future. Following a report by regulators that there was no basis for rate increases, lawmakers in Britian recently announced their intentions to further investigate acceptance fees for both Visa and Mastercard.
Payment industry guru Taylor Cole is a passionate payments expert who understands the complex world of Best Payment Providers UK. He also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from personal finance to stocks to cryptopay. He enjoys eating pie with ice-cream on his backyard porch, as should all right-thinking people.
