I once had a conversation with a merchant about not taking AmEx. He told me they could take it, their machine and merchant accounts were all set up, but instead of getting paid [whatever they charged] - [small percentage merchant fee] relatively quickly, they were sent a bill for AmEx fees that was almost impossible to correlate with sales. AmEx only paid them for the sales later.

AmEx are 'better' for customers because they screw the merchants over.

In my experience any time a merchant tells me they don't take Amex, they actually do take Amex but the owner / manager doesn't like paying the higher merchant fees so refuses it since most people carry an alternative payment card. I generally insist, and actually if any merchant /does/ accept Amex and claims they don't, it's a violation of their merchant agreement and you can report them for this.

With the exception of international travel, while I'm in the US I generally /only/ carry my Amex, because it's as good as cash for any of the businesses I'd generally want to frequent anyhow.

True! They mentioned that too. Technical acceptance level is not the same as consumer or even merchant awareness.

For a business that targets upper middle class and HNW individuals, Greater London, the affluent parts of Southwest England, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Northeast Scotland are all that matters.

Realistically, Amex works in most metros in the UK I've travelled in. Maybe the local kebab shop doesn't accept it, but the overlap in customer base probably isn't there anyhow.

Naive take. If the subject is money, London is always relevant.

> Small shops, cafes, restaurants, even chains in London refuse to take it

I’ve never noticed it, but I’m admittedly speedy when I travel. Maybe the high-end spots keep it while lower-end ones are walking away? Makes sense with e.g. eBay.