The cost of traditional banking transactions has come into focus once again as Amazon announced it would no longer accept Visa credit cards for payment in the UK. It was part of a battle that began earlier this year in Singapore and Australia where the e-commerce giant took steps to deter Visa credit card payments. An Amazon spokesperson explained, “We believe the cost of accepting credit card payments should be going down over time to allow merchants to reinvest savings into low prices and shopping enhancements. Yet despite technical advancements, some cards’ cost of payments continue to stay high or even rise.” Citing Britain’s exit from the European Union, Visa increased its fees on purchases with UK credit cards from 0.3% to 1.5%. Mastercard also imposed a similar increase. Despite Amazon’s pushback, the truth remains that merchants have always been at the mercy of card issuers. Credit cards have been a global standard for decades but the financial services landscape has changed. The cryptocurrency sector, underpinned by the security and transparency of blockchain technology, offers functional alternatives which could feasibly take the place of credit cards in the not-so-distant future. Credit Cards vs. Blockchain-Based Payments Bloomberg noted that in the US alone, merchants spent $110 billion in card processing fees in 2020. Most consumers are barely aware these costs exist or that they are responsible for higher prices ...
