Amazon has announced it will stop accepting Visa credit cards for payments in the UK from January, citing the cost of processing payments, which has made it too expensive to support them.

“As a result of Visa’s continued high cost of payments, we regret that Amazon.co.uk will no longer accept UK-issued Visa credit cards as of January 19, 2022,” Amazon said in an email sent to customers.

However, the e-commerce giant said it will continue to accept payments on Visa debit cards, as well as other credit cards from other firms, such as Mastercard and American Express.

The new rules highlight the impact of disruption decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain-powered payment systems have brought to the payment industry.

It thus beckons on payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard to adjust their framework to accommodate the new financial order of things.

Amazon said that technology advancements should be making payment processing fees reduce, but complained that they were actually increasing.

“The cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers,” the company said in a statement.

“These costs should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead they continue to stay high or even rise.

“With the rapidly changing payments landscape around the world, we will continue innovating on behalf of customers to add and promote faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment options to our stores across the globe.”

A Visa spokesperson said the company was disappointed and hoped to resolve the situation before the deadline went into effect.

“UK shoppers can use their Visa debit and credit cards at Amazon UK today and throughout the holiday season,” the company said.

“We are very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future. When consumer choice is limited, nobody wins.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Amazon, and we continue to work toward a resolution, so our cardholders can use their preferred Visa credit cards at Amazon UK without Amazon-imposed restrictions come January 2022.”

Fintech and cryptocurrencies have provided alternative payment systems that are tremendously being adopted. One of the key factors driving the wide adoption is cheap transaction processing fees, which was made possible through the elimination of intermediaries.

The backdrop poses a huge challenge to traditional payment firms, as the adoption of blockchain and fintech means losing their clients. Though some, like Mastercard, who has been partnering with other payment companies, are redesigning to tag along the shift, others are still stuck in their costly traditional system, and it’s beginning to tank their customer-base.

TikTok has been adding new features in a bid to widen the scope its usage, thereby growing its user-base. The short video app has welcomed many new ideas outside its original business, incorporating them through partnership with different companies.

To this end, Contra, a professional network for freelance workers, has jumped on the bandwagon, partnering with TikTok to allow users to showcase their resumes and portfolios via TikTok Jump, the social media service’s third-party integration tool.

The partnership marks TikTok’s indirect delve into professional networking, and signals that there will be more features in the future to accommodate new ideas.

The new partnership will allow creators to link their Contra profile to their TikTok videos to showcase their professional portfolios, TechCrunch reports, explaining that other functions of the integration and what the companies hope to achieve with it.

With this new integration, creators can now add a “View My Portfolio” link to their TikTok content. Viewers will then be able to tap the link and see the creator’s Contra profile, check out their services and send a request to collaborate.

Contra says the integration makes it easier to share professional work and get new client leads. It plans to launch another Jump integration that will allow companies that are hiring to post TikTok content with a link to apply to the job directly with the viewer’s Contra profile. The company says the partnership allows independent workers to replace traditional resumes with more engaging methods to showcase their work.

“TikTok has become one of the leading places for people to get career advice and find out about amazing roles, so it only makes sense that creators should also be able to showcase their amazing professional work on the platform,” said Contra founder and CEO Ben Huffman in a statement.

Earlier this year, Contra raised a $14.5 million Series A led by Unusual Ventures, with participation from Cowboy Ventures and Li Jin’s recently announced Atelier Ventures. Two weeks ago, the company brought in $30 million in Series B funding, led by NEA, with participation from Unusual Ventures and Cowboy Ventures.

The platform wants professionals to create profiles that show project-based identities, versus a role-based identity that one would show on LinkedIn. Contra’s goal is to help independent workers create high-signal referral networks so they can land new opportunities. Unlike LinkedIn, where you can add anyone you meet and they become a “connection,” Contra requires you to have work experience with your network.

The company’s partnership with TikTok allows it to reach more millennial and Gen Z users and possibly help them land new opportunities. Since launching TikTok Jump in June, the social media giant has partnered with many companies, such as Quizlet, Wikipedia, BuzzFeed and Jumprope, to allow them to create their own integrations within its app.

TikTok’s rapid-growing user-base is being driven by its integrated diversification that includes e-commerce. The social media company has recorded a huge number of users that saw it beating other social media platforms, including YouTube in user records.

In September, TikTok hit one billion monthly global users, a milestone for the company that was launched in 2016. In the same month, it surpassed YouTube for average watch time in the US and UK. The Contra professional network integration is expected to further boost the number of TikTok’s users.

An Igbo proverb says “Oge adighi eche mmadu” [Time and tide wait for nobody].

No matter what you do, pay attention to the technology-anchored cambrian moment taking place in major African cities. New species of companies are emerging and they will disrupt the ordinance of markets and economic architectures.

Because time and tide wait for none, even if you pay zero attention, this future of unbounded entrepreneurial capitalism is certain. #TakeAction.

Join us at Tekedia Live – this is a case study application of technology in the healthcare sector. We will be showcasing many startups as we get ready for  Tekedia Innovation Week which begins on Monday.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Nigeria’s fintech company, TeamApt, is evolving as a unicorn, valued at least $1 billion.The startup focuses on developing digital banking, business solutions and payments infrastructure. When the deal closes as reported by Bloomberg, this will bring to six the number of unicorns in Africa*: Interswitch, Andela, Flutterwave, OPay, Wave and TeamApt. We project 15 unicorns in Africa by 2023; India has birthed 28 in 2021 alone!

At Tekedia Capital, we understand this cambrian moment and are working very hard to see that we capture some of the great market gains of this age. The numbers we’re seeing in our startups give us confidence.

Technology is the accelerant that will advance all industrial sectors because every business is increasingly a technology business. As we close the round for this investment cycle of Tekedia Capital Syndicate tomorrow (Wed, Nov 17, 2021), we thank you for your partnership.

• If you have issues logging into the Board, let us know immediately.

• If you want to join our Syndicate, click here and join. We will ensure you have the time to look at the startups and invest.

In Africa, very soon, unicorns will become common.

Regards,

Tekedia Capital Team
capital@fasmicro.com