A merchant’s guide to Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay is a payment service offered by Amazon, designed to streamline online transactions for merchants and customers using the e-commerce platform’s convenient checkout experience. This service lets customers use their existing Amazon accounts to pay for goods and services on third-party websites. Through seamless integration, Amazon aims to offer online shoppers a more delightful customer experience.

Global merchants looking to expand in markets where Amazon has a large market share may consider integrating Amazon Pay into their payment options. Amazon Pay is one of the top five leading online payment services in the United States. In Japan, over 6% of merchants with at least one Payment Acceptance or Payment Processor technology until February 2024 had Amazon Payments on their website. Meanwhile, the number of Amazon Pay UPI (United Payments Interface) users in India crossed 100 million in 2024.

This guide provides an overview of Amazon Pay’s features, roles, and considerations to help merchants understand how this payment method works.

What is Amazon Pay?

Amazon Pay is a checkout solution that allows customers to use their stored payment details, including credit or debit cards and shipping addresses, from their Amazon accounts to make purchases on third-party merchant platforms. It simplifies the transaction process for shoppers while offering merchants a reliable payment method backed by Amazon's infrastructure and security protections.

Key features of Amazon Pay

1. Native merchant checkouts

Amazon Pay integrates into merchant websites, supporting a native checkout experience. Customers can pay directly on the merchant's platform without redirecting to Amazon's website.

Amazon Pay’s Global Partner Program also builds relationships with e-commerce solution providers and developers that can help merchants grow their businesses. Premier partners include Shopify and Woo (WooCommerce). Merchants using these solutions enjoy assured integration and easier setup.

2. Checkout with Amazon account details

Amazon is a highly trusted brand, ranking third among a poll of the world’s most admired companies and topping the US Fortune 30 Most Trusted & Liked Brands  list. By leveraging familiar Amazon login credentials and stored payment methods, merchants can tap into a millions-strong market of shoppers familiar with the platform’s checkout process.

One of Amazon Pay’s advantages is its ability to load shipping addresses directly from the customer’s Amazon account during checkout. This feature not only ensures accurate delivery details — it also saves time and reduces the risk of order cancellation.

3. Wide range of payment options

Amazon Pay supports various payment methods linked to the customer’s Amazon account, including credit cards, debit cards, and gift card balances. Depending on Amazon Pay partnerships in the country of purchase, sellers can offer customers greater flexibility by enabling Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) transactions.

For cross-border shoppers, Amazon Pay offers checkout in 12 commonly used currencies. Amazon will convert the amount into the currency associated with a merchant’s account — called a ledger currency — and credit it to its balance. Do note that this feature is subject to Amazon’s conversion rates.

4. Powerful fraud and privacy protection

Amazon.com’s fraud and privacy protection technology applies to sellers and shoppers alike. This includes chargeback controls, risk management processes, and automated fraud detection capabilities. Merchants are also protected by the Amazon Pay A-to-A Guarantee Policy.

Users may also opt to activate multi-step verification on Amazon Pay. This added layer of security aims to stop would-be scammers or fraudulent actors who may have gained access to a user’s password.

5. Availability in 18 countries

Amazon Pay is currently available for use by merchants with a physical presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and in some European countries like Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

In 2018, Amazon also began trialling cashless Amazon Pay payments in select brick-and-mortar stores in Japan.

How Amazon Pay works for customers

To check out with Amazon Pay on a third-party app or website, you must first log in using your Amazon account credentials. The process is much like shopping on Amazon.com.

Once successfully logged in, they can select from pre-existing payment methods and shipping addresses. After a payment is processed, customers receive a notification confirming the transaction via email.

Advantages for Merchants

1. Improved conversion rates

A seamless checkout process helps encourage customers to complete their purchases. Amazon Pay’s accelerated checkout enables faster payment completions. One merchant saw a 34% higher conversion rate, 15% higher order values, and a 70-second reduction in checkout time after implementing Amazon Pay.

2. Transaction insights

Amazon Pay’s dashboard tracks customer purchase behaviour and processes. Merchants can use this data to refine their marketing and selling strategies.

3. Transparent fee structure

Different payment platforms charge different fees. Amazon provides a transparent fee schedule so merchants can see what is deducted from a transaction.

Security features

Amazon Pay comes with security measures to protect customer payments and merchant data:

• Chargeback protection: Merchants won’t be held liable for fraud-related chargebacks if they meet Amazon’s Payment Protection Policy requirements.
• Fraud protection: Amazon Pay has built-in fraud detection systems to identify suspicious activity in real-time.
• Privacy policy compliance: Amazon Pay complies with established privacy standards, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS),
• Secure payments: Customer payment information is encrypted during transactions to minimise the risk of data breaches. Tokenisation allows merchants to conveniently process payments without their server needing to receive, manipulate, or store sensitive payment card data.

Merchant integration for Amazon Pay

1. Integration options

To begin showing the Amazon Pay button and accepting Amazon Pay, merchants must first register for an Amazon Pay merchant account and a Sandbox test buyer account. Merchants also need to set payment information and manage settings for recurring payments and refunds. This process can be confusing without guidance from a dedicated expert.

Merchants can integrate Amazon Pay through various methods:

• Amazon Pay APIs: These enable direct integration into websites and apps.
• Plugins: Many e-commerce platforms like Shopify offer ready-to-use Amazon Pay plugins for quick setup.
• Seller Central: Merchants can manage their accounts via Amazon’s Seller Central interface, which provides payment tracking and support.
• Payment solutions partner: Work with a payment solutions provider like Antom for quick and easy setup.

Considerations for integrating Amazon Pay into your checkout process

Merchants should assess:

• Integration costs: Fees and implementation efforts.
• Technical compatibility: System requirements for hosting Amazon Pay.
• Market fit: Suitability for the merchant’s target customer base and availability in their market.
• Use cases: For merchants who accept one-time transactions and recurring payments.

An Antom expert can help you get started with Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay provides merchants with a reliable and secure payment solution that taps into Amazon’s vast customer base and trusted infrastructure. Its accelerated checkout process enhances convenience for shoppers and reduces friction at checkout.

Not sure if Amazon Pay is right for you? Book a consultation with Antom, the global payments expert. With expertise across more than 40 countries, an extensive partnerships network, and comprehensive payment technologies, we can help you identify the right payment system for your growing business.