All ready for eBay which is about to say goodbye to American Express. In fact, in a few months, the payment system guaranteed by the New York company that operates in financial and travel services will no longer be accepted on the main online trade and exchange platform. Apparently this is a matter of a short time: the divorce between the two parties will take place shortly.
eBay's farewell
As explained by eBay, the decision to abandon American Express depends on the fact that over time it has become increasingly difficult and expensive to pay the commissions. Fees deemed unacceptable. Hence the choice to separate and no longer accept payments with an American Express card. The company made the announcement last Wednesday. The expected farewell date for American Express is August 17, 2024.
“Credit card transaction fees continue to rise unabated due to a lack of meaningful competition“, is what eBay declared in the notice sent to customers. “There is a need for stronger regulations to stimulate greater competition towards credit card networks and help reduce transaction processing costs“. The accusation, therefore, is aimed at the commissions required for Amex (American Express) credit card transactions. eBay will therefore continue to accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and other payment methods, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Venmo.
Since the resolution will have global effect, we already know that the news will also concern Italy. So, starting from August 17thit will not be possible to make payments via Amex on eBay.
The American Express reply
Clearly eBay's decision did not please the American Express company, which immediately responded. Amex countered by saying that its fees are similar to those of other cards accepted by eBay, so the trading platform's position could not be justified.
“We believe eBay's decision to eliminate American Express as a payment choice for consumers is inconsistent with their stated desire to increase competition at the point of sale“, the company said in a statement published on its website.
According to Amex, with this decision, eBay would instead be acting against the competitiveness.