Amazon to impose 0.5% surcharge on Visa card payments in Singapore

Amazon to impose 0.5% surcharge on Visa card payments in Singapore:

“Ecommerce giant Amazon has announced that it will impose a 0.5% surcharge on Visa card transactions on its Singapore website, Amazon.sg, from September 15,” The Straits Times reported, citing an Amazon spokesperson.

Amazon says Singapore is first place where surcharge will be levied but added that the high cost of accepting card payments is a global problem, cites Visa’s high cost of payments.

The company said its goal was not to collect revenue from the surcharge, but to encourage consumers to use better, lower-cost local payment methods, while preserving their choice and deferring the additional cost of high-cost payment methods.

“With the rapidly changing payments landscape around the world, we anticipate a future that is less card-centric in the coming years, and we will continue innovating on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper and more inclusive payment options to our stores across the globe.”

The surcharge will apply to most purchases made on Amazon.sg, such as apparel and consumer electronics sold by third parties, or Amazon itself, from Singapore or overseas.

However, the company said its goal was not to collect revenue from the surcharge, but to encourage consumers to use better, lower-cost local payment methods, while preserving their choice and deferring the additional cost of high-cost payment methods.

An e-mail sent to users of Amazon.sg yesterday attributed the surcharge to Visa’s high cost of payments. “To avoid this surcharge, we encourage you to use a non-Visa card as the default payment method in your account,” it added.

The Amazon spokesman also told ST that the cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle to providing the best prices for customers.

“These costs should be going down over time, with innovation and technological advancements, which allow merchants to reinvest savings into low prices and shopping enhancements for customers,” he said.

“Yet, despite these advancements, some cards’ cost of payments continues to stay high or even rise. As a result of Visa’s continued high cost of payments, a surcharge is being added to Visa card payments in Singapore.

“With the rapidly changing payments landscape around the world, we anticipate a future that is less card-centric in the coming years, and we will continue innovating on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper and more inclusive payment options to our stores across the globe.”