The public threat by Amazon to end support for Visa payments in the UK appears to have been withdrawn.
The expected change that was due to take place on January 19 will not happen, as was communicated in an email to users of Amazon.co.uk today.
It's not clear if the companies have come to terms on fees.
The expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will not take place on January 19. In an email sent to UK users, Amazon writes that they are working with Visa on a solution that will allow customers to use their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk.
You can continue to use Visa credit cards, debit cards, Mastercard, American Express, and Eurocard as you do today if we make any changes to Visa credit cards.
Amazon and Visa confirmed the development, but did not give any further details.
Amazon did not give any comment beyond its brief statement that nothing is changing.
While a Visa spokesman did not elaborate on what potential solutions might mean in practice, they did say that Amazon customers can continue to use Visa cards after January 19 while they work to reach a solution.
In an email to UK users late last year, Amazon warned them to make alternative arrangements for paying for their purchases on Amazon.co.uk, after blaming high payment fees charged by Visa for ending support for Visa payments.
The public mass email looked like it was trying to get better terms from Visa.
Whether that worked to convince Visa to reduce its credit card fees or whether Amazon has just decided to step back from the brink of causing major disruption to UK shoppers is unclear.
If the latter happened, UK users who use Visa-based payment methods would have been in limbo over whether they would be able to continue making purchases on the site.
In November, Visa said it was disappointing that Amazon was threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future, and that when consumer choice is limited, nobody wins.
Visa said it was working towards a resolution with Amazon to make sure Visa cardholders in the UK can use their Visa credit cards on the website.
There is no public deadline for Amazon to stop accepting Visa cards from the UK.
Visa fees have gone up on Amazon.co.uk as a result of the UK leaving the European Union.
The issue also involves the details of how Amazon structures its UK business, since it bills UK customers via an EU-based entity, shifting revenue booked via its UK website to its European HQ in Luxembourg.
A report by City AM last August suggested that this corporate structure has enabled Amazon to avoid paying higher tax in the UK. It looks like the same structure costs that Amazon has to pay are the same ones that Visa charges.
Amazon will stop accepting Visa credit cards from the UK on January 19th.
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