On Saturday the popular global online auction-based e-commerce site eBay told customers it now officially does not accept American Express as a payment option on its platform. The company — which has been wildly successful in the years after it was launched in 1995 — said "unacceptably high fees" charged by American Express were a deciding factor, after "careful consideration," in the decision to no longer accept the card as payment.
In an email to customers on Saturday eBay sent out a reminder notice writing, "As of today, you won’t be able to use American Express as a form of payment on eBay, and the American Express card that was saved on your account has been removed."
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The company urged customers to add other forms of payment or to use third-party payment apps including PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay where they might have an American Express card attached.
Other cards such as Visa, Mastercard and Discover were also suggested credit card companies eBay asked users to choose as a payment instead of American Express.
The company said purchases made on eBay using American Express that processed before Aug. 17 were still valid and would go through.
Feedback on the change was swift
In June American Express responded to the move posting a message to its website writing, "We are disappointed that eBay made the decision to stop accepting American Express Cards."
The company said, "By doing so, they will limit customers’ payment choices and take away the service, security, and rewards that customers value when paying with American Express. Our research tells us that in the US the cost of acceptance for American Express is comparable to what eBay pays for similar cards on other networks."
One user on eBay's community forum wrote, "My purchases on eBay will decrease significantly as Amazon and other sites use American Express."
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The online retailer eBay has 132 million active users worldwide.
This is not the first time a major merchant has walked away from American Express. Costco stopped working with the credit card company nearly a decade ago, the Associated Press reported.
The online auction site, headquartered in San Jose, California, was one of the first websites marketed to allow buyers and sellers to do business on its popular platform.
American Express first introduced its classic green charge card in 1958 which grew in popularity over the years, through the 1980s as the company diversified its holdings acquiring various banking and insurance operations.
