EBay to stop taking American Express cards amid fee dispute

Change is set to take effect from the middle of August

EBay will notify customers this week.

EBay will drop American Express cards as a payment option because of “unacceptably high fees”, according to an email reviewed by Bloomberg News that the online marketplace plans to send to customers.

EBay will notify customers this week about the change, which is set to take effect from the middle of August. 

“After careful consideration, eBay has decided to no longer accept American Express globally effective August 17 due to the unacceptably high fees American Express charges for processing credit card transactions,” the company said in the email.

The two firms have been embroiled in negotiations around the merchant discount rates — also known as interchange fees — charged by Amex at the point of sale. 

The fees, imposed each time a card is used in a transaction, have long been a headache for merchants. 

One trade group said retailers paid more than $172bn (€158bn) in card-processing fees last year.

Amex, however, said its research shows that its fees are comparable to what eBay must pay to accept similar cards on other networks, such as Visa and Mastercard, while providing more value.

“American Express card members have an average transaction size at eBay that is more than double the transaction size of cards from other networks,” New York-based Amex said. 

• Bloomberg