On Thursday afternoon, Shopify notified users in the Europe region that Amazon Pay will no longer be available as a payment option from the 6th of August. Then on Friday morning, Amazon responded by telling Amazon Pay merchants that due to the expected drop in transactions, they may impose a higher reserve amount.
This looks like a typical ‘Mom & Pop’ disagreement with both sides likely holding out for a better deal. We’ve seen it with Amazon and Visa back in 2022, although they came to a last minute deal to continue to accept Visa credit cards and frankly it’s just tiresome for merchants.
We’re not expecting Shopify and Amazon to fall out worldwide permanently – Buy with Prime on Shopify is too big for the two companies to totally part ways. It’ll probably get sorted at some point but be aware if Amazon Pay is your only payment method on Shopify you’ll need another if you want to continue to shop.
Beginning August 6, 2024, Amazon Pay will no longer be available on Shopify shops in your region. Amazon Pay will be deactivated from your shop and past order information for Amazon Pay will be available on Amazon Seller Central.
– Shopify email to merchants
For questions related to the discontinuation of support or managing your Amazon Pay transactions after August 6, please contact Amazon Support.
We know this may be an inconvenience and we’re here to help. You can still offer your customers other payment methods available in your region
What’s interesting from the Shopify notification email, is the suggestion that you contact Amazon support if you want more help. This is a classic way of getting merchants to do your lobbying for you. If enough merchants contact Amazon complaining that Amazon Pay on Shopify is being taken away… maybe Amazon will do something about it.
Following the recent email update you received from Shopify, we want to make you aware that the deactivation of Amazon Pay, effective from August 06, 2024, may require an additional reserve amount from your Amazon Pay account.
– Amazon email to merchants
Beginning June 27, 2024, you may see an additional reserve amount to your account based upon your refund and disputes rate over the past 30 days. This reserve ensures your account is sufficiently funded to deliver a seamless post-order experience for customers for any outstanding claims and refunds, and is in accordance with our User Agreement.
For any enquiries, including requests for additional assistance, please contact Amazon Pay Merchant Support.
Amazon’s biggest response to date has been to tell merchants that they may end up with a bigger reserve on their account, just at the time they lose their Shopify revenue and have to consider alternative payment methods. Although it’s a logical response from Amazon – there may be some final refunds to process and the money is going to stop rolling in – it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth for merchants who are unlikely to look on the situation with much joy.
