As predicted, Amazon ditches Payment Providers to push sellers into Currency Converter

When opening a Seller Account across the world’s Amazon marketplaces, among the first details to provide is a deposit method for disbursements. Payments for any processed customer orders will start collecting in your “Payments Dashboard” and it will be necessary for you to insert a valid bank account in one of the approved countries in order to be paid.

Of course, Amazon will carefully verify the ownership of your deposit method by asking you to upload a bank account statement which meets certain conditions and the owner’s address matches your details entered in the Seller Central.

Many sellers, whose local bank accounts and currencies aren’t accepted on Amazon are resorting to Payment Providers – professional companies such as Payoneer, TransferWise or Hyperwallet, who can arrange them a virtual bank account along with a credit card. Others, even when their bank accounts are fine with Amazon are concerned by the losses incurred by currency conversion and still opt for virtual bank accounts.

The major problem with virtual bank accounts has always been Amazon’s trust issue and common rejection of Seller Identity Verification attempts by merchants with documents provided by these services, including bank account or credit card statements.

This is because literally anyone can easily apply for a virtual bank account through the internet, without the usual screening process of verifying identity which regular banking institutions conduct. Previously suspended fraudulent sellers can take advantage and avoid being caught.

I discussed this topic in detail in my recent Seller Identity Verification video, which you can view here:

A few months ago, Amazon announced lowering of their Currency Converter Fees to 1.5%, which already hinted their upcoming actions, about which I informed you in my October’s article.

Then, the company started even more aggressively pushing international sellers into the Currency Converter by sending them spammy e-mails.

Finally, on 1.February 2021 Amazon announced that they are cracking down on Payments Providers by introducing a “Payment Provider Policy”, which means that only Amazon-approved online bank account services will be available for use in the Seller Central.

Among the currently approved services is Payoneer, WorldFirst and PingPong.

The company stated that this move was motivated by them trying to curb the amount of bad actors – which are normally sellers who fail to pass the Seller Identity Verification due to geographical mismatch triggered by the use of unverifiable online service providers.

Here is a screenshot of the announcement in the Amazon Seller Central dated 1.February 2021:

Here is a copy of the announcement in English:

New Payment Service Provider policy As part of our continued effort to make Amazon the safest and most trusted store in the world for customers and sellers, we are launching the Payment Service Provider program to enhance our ability to detect, prevent, and take actions against potential bad actors so we can continue to protect customers and sellers from fraud and abuse. Sellers that choose to use a payment service provider (PSP) to receive their Amazon store sales proceeds will be required to use a PSP that is participating in this program. We are notifying you now so that you have sufficient time to change or contact your PSP if needed.  1. Do I need to take any action?  If you do not use a PSP, but instead are using a bank account directly issued to you by a bank, no action is required. If you use a PSP that is already signed up to participate in the program (including LianLian Pay, Payoneer, PingPong and WorldFirst), no action is necessary. We are working diligently to enroll additional PSPs into the program as soon as possible, and will continue to update this page this page with participating PSPs. If your PSP is not yet participating, we recommend you contact them to learn about their plan to enroll in our Payment Service Provider program. If they do not plan to enroll, you should switch to a participating PSP or use a bank account directly issued to you by a bank by May 31, 2021. Detailed instructions on how to make the changes are available here. Beginning on March 1, 2021, sellers adding a new bank account from a PSP must use a PSP that is participating in the program. 2. What if I continue using a non-participating PSP after May 31, 2021?  Sellers who continue using a bank account from a non-participating PSP after May 31, 2021 will be subject to a longer disbursement reserve period of up to 21 days after the latest estimated delivery date (click here for more detail on payments based on delivery date).  Beginning on July 15, 2021, we will stop disbursement to sellers using non-participating PSPs altogether. 3. What should I do if I am using Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS)?  If you are using ACCS and are disbursing your Amazon store proceeds to a bank account directly issued to you by a bank or by a participating PSP, no action is necessary. If you are using ACCS to disburse to a bank account issued by a non-participating PSP, refer to Question #1 above to determine whether you need to take action accordingly.

And interestingly, several hours Amazon also e-mailed sellers with a notice regarding this change – signed as “Amazon.com Services LLC”, which is a different company than the “Amazon.com Inc.” which normally interacts with sellers:

WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING A PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER?

Update your Seller Account with a local bank account and start using Amazon’s Currency Converter – which is the safest option for your business and satisfactory resolution for Amazon.

Here is the list of currently accepted Payment Service Providers, which can change anytime, so my recommendation would be to just try to comply with Amazon’s policy:

➡️ If you are an Amazon Seller who needs help with any Amazon-related issues such as suspensions, listing blocks or is looking for professional assistance, please don’t hesitate to subscribe to my new OnlyFans page at: www.onlyfans.com/kikaangelic