eBay have emailed impacted buyers telling them that from the 17th of August they will no longer process payments from American Express cards.
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, Mastercard, and Discover, and other payment methods such as PayPal.
eBay email
The reason eBay have given is the ‘unacceptably high fees’ American Express charges for processing credit card transactions.
Binning a payment provider isn’t entirely unprecedented – in 2022, for a while Amazon stopped accepting UK Visa credit cards citing the exact same reason of transaction fees being too high. It’s basically a hardball approach to stalled negotiations (Amazon came to an agreement with Visa credit cards).
If eBay do indeed stop accepting American Express in August, buyers will still be able to pay with their card via PayPal. However you may lose some consumer rights and for large purchases (over £100) it may be worth opting to pay with an alternative card.
American Express have signalled their ‘disappointment’ with eBay’s decision, saying it would limit customers’ payment choices and take away the service, security, and rewards that customers value when shopping with their Amex card. It’s also worth noting that American Express are a committed champion of Small Businesses, for which eBay is where many retail their wares.
