Amazon shelves plans to stop accepting Visa credit cards - here's all you need to know

The online retail giant announced today (17 January) that it will no longer stop Visa credit card transactions and that it is working on a "potential solution" with the credit card company to allow customers to continue using their cards to pay for purchases. 

Amazon had announced in November last year that it would no longer accept Visa credit cards as payment from 19 January 2022 and blamed the move on Visa's card fees. MoneySavingExpert.com founder, Martin Lewis, said at the time that he suspected the shake-up was a possible negotiating tactic by Amazon to get Visa to lower its credit card transaction fees. 

Amazon also gave users a £10 or £20 credit if they updated their payment details. 

Below we explain what the latest twist in the tale means, but if you're buying from Amazon in the meantime, check out our 30+ Amazon buying tricks for short-lived codes, a free delivery loophole and more. 

You can still use Visa credit cards as your preferred method of payment

You can continue to use your Visa credit card as normal to pay for goods, Amazon has confirmed. This means you don't need to do anything if you've not yet updated your details. It also means you can change your preferred payment method back to Visa credit.

Amazon adds that it will give advance notice to customers if there are any future changes to Visa credit card payments. 

If you received Amazon's email offering £10/£20 credit, you can still redeem it

Amazon had offered a credit reward if you updated your preferred payment method from your Visa credit card to an alternative card, with £20 for Prime members and £10 for non-Prime members. 

But Amazon has confirmed that those who received the email with the promotional link can still redeem the offer by clicking on the link to update their preferred payment. However, the promotional banner on the website and the pop-up on the app have been removed. You may also have previously been able to redeem the offer by calling customer services and following the instructions, but this is no longer available either.

Once you've updated your payment details, you'll receive a second email from Amazon notifying of your account credit expiry date, which will be within 30 days. You can then add the credit to your Amazon wallet. Once the email comes through, you can log in, click 'your account', select 'top up account' and then follow the instructions.

You can't use the credit on certain subscriptions or certain digital content or products, including Alexa, Fire and Kindle products and devices. You also can't exchange it for cash. If you buy an item worth less than the credit, you can save the rest to go towards another purchase. 

What do Amazon and Visa say?

In a statement provided to MoneySavingExpert.com, Amazon said: “The expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will no longer take place on 19 January. 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.”

A Visa spokesperson 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."