Amazon and Visa reach global truce over credit card fees

Amazon has reached a global agreement with Visa to settle a dispute over the credit card giant’s fees.

The deal means Amazon customers in the U.K. can continue using Visa credit cards, as previously announced by the two companies. Amazon will also drop a 0.5% surcharge on Visa credit card transactions in Singapore and Australia, which it introduced last year.

Last month, Amazon said it had dropped plans to stop accepting Visa credit cards in Britain, two days before the change was expected to take place. The companies said at the time that they would continue talks on a broader resolution to their spat.

“We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC via email. “Amazon remains committed to offering customers a payment experience that is convenient and offers choice.”

Amazon has been piling pressure on Visa to lower its fees, in a series of moves that signaled growing frustration from retailers over the costs associated with major card networks, as well as the e-commerce giant’s market power and sway over its partners.

The likes of Visa, Mastercard and American Express now face intense competition from a flood of fintech challengers, from “buy now, pay later” services like Klarna to open banking, a technology that lets start-ups effectively bypass traditional payment rails such as cards.

In an emailed statement to CNBC, Visa said its agreement with Amazon would also see the two collaborate on “new product and technology initiatives to ensure innovative payment experiences for our customers in the future.”

Both companies declined to comment further on the terms of their agreement when asked by CNBC.