It's a notable blow to American Express, whose customers are often the most attractive among merchants and spend the most money per month on their cards. But it's not the first time merchants have voiced opposition to AmEx's business practices by walking away, most notably the warehouse chain
“After careful consideration, eBay has decided to no longer accept American Express globally effective
Overland said that eBay customers have become aware of new ways to pay for items, making payments more competitive than ever before, and AmEx was no longer a necessary partner for eBay. eBay has increasingly been offering customers buy now, pay later options on purchases through Apple Pay, PayPal and other companies like
“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,” Overland said.
Online merchants have become increasingly combative with payment processors in recent years over the fees they charge to accept payments. Amazon had a similar fight with
Like other payment processors, AmEx takes a percentage of each transaction a merchant processes on their network. The fee varies from industry to industry, and the fees that the largest merchants pay are typically a closely guarded trade secret.
In a statement, American Express says that eBay's cost to accept AmEx cards is “comparable to what eBay pays for similar cards on other networks" and that AmEx cardmembers typically spend double what is spent on other networks.
“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,” said
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
, source