End of an Era: Marketplace to Stop Accepting American Express

The pace of technology seems steady until it’s not.

Many businesses were taken aback by the computer revolution, and the explosion of online stores in the 2000s rocked many brick-and-mortar businesses to their core.

And now, one of the world’s largest — and oldest — online retailers has made an announcement that could mark the end of an era.

The auction and e-commerce site eBay said in a news release on Wednesday that it no longer will accept American Express credit cards for purchases starting Aug. 17.

The reason given was “the unacceptably high fees American Express charges for processing credit card transactions.”

“At a time when payment processing costs should be declining because of technological advancements, investments in fraud capabilities and customer protections by merchants like eBay, credit card transaction fees continue to rise unabated because of a lack of meaningful competition,” the company said.

“As consumers and small businesses are worried about inflation and rising costs, there is a need for more robust regulations to drive greater competition to credit card networks and help reduce transaction processing costs for merchants and their customers,” it said.

Considering the ease with which payments can be made using credit and debit cards as well as services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, eBay apparently reasoned that the hassle of dealing with AmEx’s exorbitant processing fees was not worth the trouble.

Not that the New York-based financial services giant hasn’t pushed back.

In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, American Express said it was “disappointed” by eBay’s decision.

The company said the move “will limit customers’ payment choices and take away the service, security, and rewards that customers value when paying with American Express.”

“We find eBay’s decision to drop American Express as a payment choice for consumers to be inconsistent with their stated desire to increase competition at the point of sale,” it said.

The company also said its 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.”

Perhaps, perhaps not — according to Bankrate, Visa and Mastercard charge merchants processing fees of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent, while AmEx’s are 2.5 to 3.5 percent.

And eBay isn’t the only company to drop American Express. The Associated Press noted that Costco did so for the same reason nearly a decade ago.

So this decision was not necessarily a seismic shift in the online payment industry.

But it represents another step toward payments tailored especially for the online world.

While eBay doesn’t accept cryptocurrency payments, reports in 2021 and 2022 indicated it was a possibility that was under consideration.

Either way, the companies that are most adaptable to new markets and technologies will be the ones that can compete the best as new technology continues to change how people shop.

American Express might be one of the oldest credit cards still on the market, but if it is unable to compete with the prices and perks of other payment systems, it might go the way of the traveler’s check and physical newspaper.

And the decision by eBay could, possibly, close the door of one era (physical credit cards) and open the door to a new one (cheaper and quicker crypto-style payments).

Who knows?

Cryptocurrency might go the way of Betamax, but that’s the beauty of the free market.

Any new technology has a chance if the company behind it is ready, willing and able to compete.