Amazon UK halts plan to stop accepting Visa

Amazon has halted plans to stop accepting Visa credit cards, the online giant confirmed on Monday, as the two sides edged close to agreement.

Amazon announced last November that it would no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards from 19 January in a row over fees. Customers were urged to change their payment preferences and were offered a £20 voucher for doing so.

But on Monday, Amazon emailed customers to say that the "expected change" would now no longer take place on Wednesday. It continued: "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.

"Should we make any changes related to Visa credit cards, we will give you advance notice. Until then, you can continue to use Visa credit cards."

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

The row centres around the fees charged by Visa for processing credit card transactions. Amazon has argued that technological advancements meant costs should be going down, "but instead they continue to stay high or even rise". Visa responded at the time by saying it was disappointed by the decision and it would "continue to work toward a resolution".

Last Wednesday, Amazon told The Mirror that no resolution had been agreed.