If you have an American Express card, you may have experienced occasions when a business wouldn’t accept it. This could happen when you try to pay and your card doesn’t work, or when a business owner puts up a sign explaining why they don’t take AMEX.
The main reason behind this is money. American Express charges higher fees to businesses compared to other credit card companies like Mastercard, Visa and Discover. For small businesses, these higher fees can eat into their profits, so some of them prefer not to accept AMEX. They’re basically hoping that by asking customers to pay with a different card, they won’t lose any sales.
When it comes to large businesses, one of the most well-known non-AMEX locations is Costco Warehouses. In the past, Costco exclusively accepted AMEX, but that changed in June, 2016, when the Costco card switched to Citi and became a Visa.
Now, Visa is the only credit card accepted at Costco. Members accept this because they’re told that by receiving a discounted rate from Visa on transactions, Costco can keep prices lower.
Now another large company is dropping American Express cards as a payment option.
eBay Drops AMEX
As of Saturday, August 17th, eBay will no longer accept AMEX for payments.
Effective August 17, we’ll no longer accept American Express as a form of payment on eBay since we have been unable to agree on terms that are acceptable to eBay. You’ll still be able to use a wide variety of credit and debit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and other payment methods such as PayPal.
To continue having a smooth checkout experience after August 17, use the link below to add another payment method.
eBay sent out an email to customers in June, alerting them to the upcoming changes. Sometimes, these messages are used as a negotiating tactic, showing that the company is serious about their decision and you’ll eventually get a message that the two sides have come to an agreement. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case and eBay will drop AMEX.
AMEX’s fix
Of course, AMEX isn’t thrilled about losing all of the fees it’s earned from eBay purchases. So, it’s sending emails to cardholders with instructions on how to continue using AMEX on eBay by using PayPal.
Adding AMEX card to Paypal Wallet
We received this message from AMEX about eBay.
We’re disappointed to inform you that eBay made the decision to stop accepting American Express Cards starting August 17, 2024. To continue spending at eBay beyond August 17, 2024, add your American Express Card to your PayPal Wallet.
You can add your AMEX card through the PayPal website or app, or you can connect them directly with AMEX. It’s only a few clicks.
Clicking on the PayPal tile takes you to the page where you’ll connect your AMEX card to PayPal.
I selected the same card we’d been using on eBay and linked it to PayPal.
All we have to do when purchasing items on eBay is to pick PayPal as the payment method and select the AMEX card we’ve stored in our wallet.
Final Thought
I’m certain that not all users will want to go through the extra steps to pay with an AMEX card for eBay purchases. However, if you genuinely want to use an AMEX, there’s a workaround that American Express and PayPal are more than happy to help you set up.
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