Amazon Payments Signup:  the Nitty and Gritty

The overview of Amazon Payments left you still feeling unsure of what you'll see when you sign up?  No worries.  Here is everything you'll encounter along the way. 

Click here to begin the account setup.

Signing up for your Amazon Payments Business Account

First, you must decide how you want to set up your Business Account if you have an existing Amazon login, then follow steps below that pertain to Option 1 or 2.

  • 1. If you have an existing Amazon login (that you have used for personal purchases for yourself or as gifts, for example), you can create a Business Payments Account under that login. The accounts are different account types, but you can manage them with one account login (e.g., yourname@gmail.com)
  • 2. You can create a new Amazon Payments Business Account under a separate login (e.g. yourname@yourbusiness.com) and keep your business and personal Amazon accounts separate.

**Please remember that Amazon uses the email address as the account login/identifier. 

(Before you get started, please have a business or personal credit card, your bank account information and your favorite beverage to help you through this process.  It will take 10-15 minutes to complete.)

Click here to get started (or copy and paste this link into your browser:


If you are selecting option 1 from above to use your existing Amazon account, you'll fill out the screen as shown below.

If you are creating a new account, you will enter your email address and select I Am A New User.

Complete the form with the required information:

Be sure your screen says Sign Up for Amazon Payments Business Account, and then complete the Contact Information and Business Information. 

(If it does not say Amazon Payments Business Account, please do not proceed.  Start over or call us for assistance.)

Additional information is needed about your business. Please use the Estimated Transaction Volume and Average Transaction Amount as show here (or increase if you feel your online gift certificate volume will be higher). 

Enter your credit card information (use your business card if you have one for your business account)

Select your security questions and answers, and be sure to notate these somewhere safe for future reference.  This is the only way to reset passwords and update certain aspects of your account once they are set up.  Read the Terms and Conditions and select Continue.

If you have successfully completed the process, Amazon will provide a confirmation screen and let you know that you need to verify your email address and the address to where they sent their email. They will send you an email with instructions on how to do this. 

Once you verify your email address (you must verify your email or the account will not remain active), you can proceed to adding a bank account.  If you do not add a bank account, you cannot transfer your money from your Amazon account to your bank account.

Select  Add A Bank Account from the Your Account Tab, Edit my Account Settings section

Enter your bank account information.  Amazon will use this bank account when you request transfer of monies from your Amazon account to your bank account.  Amazon does not do this automatically so you will want to do a transfer once or twice a month, or more often during your high-volume months.

After selecting Continue Amazon may provide an option for the Bank Account Verfication process, or they may tell you which one they require that you use - either verifying through small bank deposits (see below) or faxing to Amazon a copy of the first page of your bank statement.  Follow the directions for the proper method in order to verify your bank account.  

Once you have performed the steps required for verification, Amazon will take a few business days to complete the process.  While this is occurring, you can contact us to activate your Amazon account for Instant Gift Certificate sales from your website.  We will provide you instructions on how to complete this last step.  You can email us at support@coverboom.com or call us at 800.940.0451 to let us know you are ready to activate it in your CoverBoom account.  We do not need any secure information from you, just your business name and your name.

We strongly recommend that you TEST a purchase before your clients do for you! 

A note about Amazon's payment policy: 

Amazon has a reserve policy for all new accounts.  Per their help file,

Amazon Payments may require that you maintain a minimum balance in your account to secure the performance of your payment obligations. We call this minimum balance a Reserve.

Why Does Amazon Payments Need a Reserve?

For the first six months with new Business and Seller Accounts, you will be placed in the Tier I Reserve. The Tier I Reserve amount is the sum of all unresolved transaction disputes (that is, chargebacks and claims) and the trailing 14 days of sales activity....

Additional information for Amazon's Reserve policy can be found at https://payments.amazon.com/sdui/sdui/helpTab/Checkout-by-Amazon/Getting-Paid/What-s-a-Reserve

After the 14-day hold period passes, your funds become disbursable and you are able to transfer monies to your bank account.  Depending on your volume you may see changes in your Account Balance and Disbursable Balance on a daily basis, which will allow for you to make frequent transfers to your bank account. 

**Please be sure to notate your login, password and security questions in a safe place. Your Amazon account contains personal and business information similar to that of online banking or online credit card accounts.**