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Before You Choose Amazon Pay: Pros, Cons & Potential Risks

Name: Amazon Pay
Item: Amazon Pay
Rating: 5
Author: Phillip Parker

Author: Phillip Parker

Updated: September 22, 2025

Maintained Since: August 26, 2011

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We take our role in providing guidance and education regarding the card payment industry very seriously. At our own expense, we have vigorously defended our right to continue expose unethical and predatory practices in the industry, successfully defeating every attempt to silence us. However, fending off frivolous lawsuits is costly. To sustain these efforts, one of the ways we generate revenue is through affiliate partnerships with ethical providers. This means that some of our outgoing links connect business owners to trustworthy, low-cost payment processors, which is what most of our readers seek. We see this revenue channel as a win-win-win for everyone involved. Business owners find good processors, processors get good clients, and we are able to continue to provide a valuable service to the small business community. We also recommend and link to many services that do not compensate us. Our priority is to guide you to the best solutions for your needs, regardless of potential revenue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.

All mentions of rate and fee costs are estimations based on publicly available information and client feedback. Actual costs may vary based on a variety of factors unique to your business.

Amazon Pay

Rating

5/5

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Pros

No Setup Fees

Global Reach

Fraud Protection

Customer Convenience

Easy Checkout

Cons

Higher Transaction Fees

Chargeback Fees

Limited eCommerce Compatibility

No In-Person Support

No Volume Discounts

Overview

In this review of Amazon Pay, we examine how the service allows businesses to accept payments using customers’ stored Amazon credentials, making checkout faster and more convenient. We look at how Amazon Pay works, including its payment gateway integration, support for recurring billing, fraud protection, and international transactions, while also evaluating its fee structure and contract terms. The review highlights merchant feedback on issues such as account fund holds, delays in deposits, and customer service responsiveness. By the end, you will have a clear understanding of whether Amazon Pay provides enough value, trust, and ease of use to be the right choice for your business.

About Amazon Pay

Screen Capture of Amazon Pay Homepage — Amazon Pay Homepage

Also known as Amazon Pay, Amazon Payments is a payment processing service offered by the e-commerce giant Amazon. Launched in 2007, the service allows customers to use their Amazon accounts to make purchases on third-party websites. Amazon Pay has integrated with numerous e-commerce platforms, providing a seamless checkout experience. In recent years, Amazon Pay has expanded its reach, partnering with companies like Stripe and BigCommerce to enhance its service offerings. The platform supports a variety of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, as well as ACH payments. In 2019, Amazon Pay introduced voice payments through Alexa, further integrating its services into the everyday lives of its users. The service has continued to evolve, with recent enhancements aimed at improving security and reducing friction in the payment process.

A Single E-Commerce Umbrella

This Amazon Pay review is only going to focus on the Amazon Pay business account used by businesses for accepting payments from customers. At the time of a previous update, Amazon offered two different services called “Checkout by Amazon” and “Amazon Simple Pay” that served separate business types. Since then, Amazon Simple Pay was discontinued, and Checkout by Amazon was discontinued in April 2017. Amazon now seems to group all of its e-commerce checkout options under the name “Amazon Pay.”

Products & Merchant Services

Payment Processing

Amazon Pay allows customers to store their credit card and shipping information in their Amazon account, enabling them to check out on Amazon Pay-enabled websites without re-entering payment details. Similar to PayPal, users can pay with stored information or enter new payment information during checkout. Additionally, Amazon Pay supports voice-activated payments through Alexa. This service is sometimes referred to as “Amazon Login and Pay.”

In-App Purchases

Amazon Pay supports in-app purchases, making it easier for app developers to integrate payment processes. This benefits from Amazon’s large user base and the trust it has established with its customers.

Alexa Skill Payments

Amazon Pay integrates with Alexa skills, allowing users to make voice-activated transactions. This feature enables activities like ordering food or paying bills without manually entering payment details.

Subscription Services

Amazon Pay offers solutions for subscription payments, facilitating recurring billing for services such as digital media subscriptions, subscription boxes, and premium memberships.

Fraud Protection

Amazon Pay includes fraud protection, leveraging Amazon’s robust security protocols. This is crucial for online businesses to maintain customer trust and protect their operations.

Multinational Support

Amazon Pay supports multiple currencies and is available in several countries, making it a viable option for businesses with international customers.

Pay with Amazon Pay Button

Merchants can integrate the ‘Pay with Amazon Pay’ button into their websites, allowing customers to complete transactions without leaving the site.

Customer Insights

Amazon Pay provides detailed transaction analytics and customer insights, helping merchants understand customer behavior and optimize their sales strategies.

A Discontinued Mobile Payment Service

On August 13, 2014, Amazon launched a new service called Amazon Local Register. Similar to Square, the service utilized a free app and a swiper that could be plugged into phones or tablets to enable merchants to accept payments. Amazon Local Register has since been discontinued.

Customer Reviews & Sentiment

Consumer Complaints about Amazon Pay

Despite its size, there are relatively few negative Amazon Pay reviews online. The majority of complaints seem to originate from consumers rather than merchants. These consumer complaints often target the websites utilizing Amazon Pay, attributing issues to them rather than Amazon Pay itself. Share your own Amazon Pay review in the comments below.

Merchant Concerns with Amazon Pay

Among the available merchant Amazon Pay complaints, a significant portion revolves around fund holds by Amazon or perceived shortcomings in customer service. Some complaints may stem from businesses misunderstanding how Amazon Pay manages payments. A few reports mention glitches in the account setup process. Overall, it seems that the vast majority of Amazon Pay clients do not encounter major issues with fund holds or technical issues, but 31 users of the service accuse Amazon Pay of being a ripoff or scam.

Amazon Pay Legal Matters

In 2023, Amazon Pay faced a lawsuit from a client regarding account deactivation. The status of the suit remains ongoing. Dissatisfied clients seeking alternatives to legal action can consider reporting issues to relevant supervisory organizations.

Amazon Pay Customer Support Channels

Amazon Pay primarily offers customer support through email, but the company does provide a phone number for users who are logged into their accounts.

Industry Scores & User Ratings

Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop	5
BBB Rating	N/A

PaymentPop Rating for Amazon Pay

Negative Feedback

There are no negative reviews published about Amazon Pay on the PaymentPop website.

Positive Feedback

Adding Amazon Payments gave our customers another trusted option at checkout. Transactions have been smooth, and we didn’t need to overhaul our site to make it work. It’s been a low maintenance, high value addition to our payment options.

No BBB Profile

Amazon Payments does not have a dedicated Better Business Bureau profile; however, Amazon itself holds a “B+” rating with the BBB and has been accredited since 1996. Given the fact that this profile is not an accurate representation of merchant satisfaction with Amazon Payments, we will not factor a BBB report into the company’s overall rating. In any case, readers should not rely on the BBB alone to assess a company’s trustworthiness, because there are reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s rating system.

Processing Rates & Fees

Transparent Pricing

Amazon Pay adopts a straightforward approach with no setup fees, monthly fees, or cancellation fees. The service offers web-based, mobile, and voice payment solutions. For domestic transactions, a processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction applies, while cross-border transactions incur a fee of 3.9% plus $0.30. Additionally, Amazon Pay imposes a disputed chargeback fee of $20. Initially, all Amazon Payments Business Accounts had a $500 limit for receiving funds until a credit card was added, enabling businesses to receive up to $10,000 in payments. If a verified bank account was also added, this limit could be significantly increased or removed entirely. While these limits may still be applicable, confirmation is currently unavailable.

Flexible Contracts

In general, Amazon’s rates are comparable to those of PayPal, Stripe, and other online payment processors. Reviews of Amazon Pay seldom cite specific issues with the set rates. This, combined with the absence of hidden fees and long-term contracts, positions the service as a highly cost-effective option, even when compared to some of the cheapest merchant account providers.

Amazon Pay’s rates are fairly straightforward

Employee Reviews & Sales Practices

Transparent Marketing and Rate Quotes

Amazon uses no misleading sales tactics while marketing its Amazon Pay service. The service is primarily marketed through Amazon’s traditional channels, and the company does not engage in any deceptive rate quoting that is apparent to this reviewer. In fact, Amazon differs from many providers by quoting its specific per-transaction fees in plain view on its website, which helps to realistically set client expectations. In addition, there are no Amazon Pay complaints indicating that Amazon misrepresents its fees or fails to disclose important terms. We will therefore assign Amazon an “A” in this category, but if you suspect that Amazon is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a free third-party statement audit.

Amazon Pay Competitors

Compare Amazon Pay to competitors that earned top marks.

Pricing

About Us

CardPaymentOptions.com

Established 2009

My name is Phillip Parker, and I started this website back in 2009 as a simple blog to call out shady credit card processors that were taking advantage of small business owners. At the time, I had no idea this side project would grow into a leading voice pushing for transparency and integrity in the payment processing industry. I also didn't anticipate just how far some of these companies' owners would go to try to silence me.

I was recruited out of college for a sales role with a credit card processor. At the time, I didn't realize the “training” was really about tricking me... into selling business owners expensive processing with hidden fees and long-term service agreements. In my first few sales, I unknowingly cost friends and family thousands of dollars after they trusted me to switch their services. When it finally clicked that something was seriously wrong, I was furious. I quit immediately and made a promise to expose that company and any others operating the same way. That promise is what led to the creation of this website.

As I wrote about these processors, their tactics, and the people behind them, the articles started to spread among business owners. News organizations picked up the stories, readers shared them online, and traffic to the blog took off. Unsurprisingly, that also caught the attention of the companies and individuals I was exposing.

Over the last 17 years, I've received several anonymous death threats and defeated four lawsuits meant to intimidate me into taking my blog down. Their efforts to muzzle me only made my determination to expose them even stronger, leading me to work with state authorities to help shutdown some of the worst offenders.

I'm proud to say that of the millions of people who have read my work, thousands have taken the time to write and thank me for helping them narrowly avoid a very costly mistake. This blog has played a small role in pushing the industry toward more ethical practices - but there are still bad actors out there, which means the work isn't done.

If I can offer one piece of advice, it's this: get every promise in writing, and take the time to review contracts carefully. Tools like ChatGPT can help surface red flags and uncover expensive surprises buried in the fine print.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I truly appreciate you being here, and I wish you every success with your business.

Our Research Methodology

Pricing & Fees

We analyze all costs including rate structures (interchange-plus, tiered, flat-rate, etc), monthly fees, equipment costs, early termination fees, and hidden charges. This data is gathered from service agreements, statements and client feedback.

Features & Technology

Evaluation of POS systems, e-commerce integrations, mobile capabilities, reporting tools, recurring billing..., and developer resources. When possible, we directly test services and hardware. Otherwise, we rely on client feedback and public information.

Customer Support

We evaluate availability across phone, email, chat, and social channels. Measuring hold times, night and weekend availability, and client feedback regarding effectiveness, professionalism, and resolution rates.

Contract Terms & Conditions

We review service agreements and equipment contracts for reasonability, transparency, and fairness. We focus on uncovering any predatory clauses, such as unjustified early termination fees, hidden costs, and unclear cancellation policies.

User Experience

We comb the internet and interview current and former clients to evaluate the overall user experience and identify any common pain points that may impact the user experience.

Sales & Marketing Practices

We evaluate sales tactics, marketing materials, and client feedback to determine the level of transparency and ethical nature of the provider's approach. Does the provider publicly disclose pricing? Do they use teaser rates? We score based on these and other factors.

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