EBay still accepts payments by other credit card providers, such as Visa and Mastercard.
Every time a business accepts a card payment from a customer, it must pay a credit card processing fee. But firms are not allowed to charge customers extra if they pay by debit or credit card, so these costs are usually factored into the price of the item.
EBay announced the Amex ban back in June, and it is not the only retailer that won’t accept Amex cards because of the higher fees.
Amex offers a range of reward credit cards, with which you earn cashback and points on your spending. It says the costs are justified as it offers “premium services for merchants and access to a premium type of customer”.
A statement from eBay said: “At a time when payment processing costs should be declining because of technological advancements, investments in fraud capabilities and customer protections, credit card transaction fees continue to rise unabated because of a lack of meaningful competition.”
There is one way that eBay customers can still use Amex cards – paying via PayPal.
However, customers should be wary of using PayPal for large purchases on eBay, as they won’t benefit from the legal protection offered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
This clause states that if you pay for something costing between £100 and £30,000 on a credit card, the card company is jointly liable with the seller if something goes wrong.
But for a purchase to be covered by Section 75, there has to be a direct link between you, the credit card issuer, and the place you bought it from. When you use PayPal on eBay, this link is broken.
PayPal has its own protection scheme, but it isn’t as strong as the legal protection offered by Section 75.
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