eBay dropping Amex card support, citing ‘unacceptably high fees’

eBay is dropping Amex card support, emailing users to advise that it will no longer accept American Express cards for payments from mid-August …

Those of us who have an Amex card as a payment method received emails this morning.

Effective August 17, we’ll no longer accept American Express as a form of payment on eBay since we have been unable to agree on terms that are acceptable to eBay. You’ll still be able to use a wide variety of credit and debit cards such as Visa and Mastercard, and other payment methods such as PayPal.

To continue having a smooth checkout experience after 17 August, use the link below to add another payment method.

The company expanded on this in a statement.

After careful consideration, eBay has decided to no longer accept American Express globally effective August 17 due to the unacceptably high fees American Express charges for processing credit card transactions. At a time when payment processing costs should be declining because of technological advancements, investments in fraud capabilities and customer protections by merchants like eBay, credit card transaction fees continue to rise unabated because of a lack of meaningful competition. As consumers and small businesses are worried about inflation and rising costs, there is a need for more robust regulations to drive greater competition to credit card networks and help reduce transaction processing costs for merchants and their customers.

eBay customers are being notified about this upcoming change to prepare them for a smooth transition starting August 17 to the variety of popular, relevant, and secure payment options available on our marketplace. Based on research, we know that the vast majority of eBay customers are willing to use alternative payment options to continue enjoying buying and selling on our marketplace.

Bloomberg reports Amex’s response.

“American Express card members have an average transaction size at eBay that is more than double the transaction size of cards from other networks,” New York-based Amex said in a statement. “We find eBay’s decision to drop American Express as a payment choice for consumers to be inconsistent with their stated desire to increase competition at the point of sale.”

Amex has prioritized protecting its cut of transactions, and been willing to lose merchants rather than compromise, as happened with Costco back in 2016.

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