On August 1, Amazon’s major adjustment to advertising payment will officially take effect.

According to the new Amazon policy, this adjustment only applies to accounts that have received an official targeted notification email. For affected accounts, there will be only two compliant payment methods for advertising fees: automatic deduction from available account balance, and invoice cycle payment. The previously mainstream credit card payment method is downgraded overall and will only serve as a backup when the balance is insufficient.

In simple terms: bound Visa and Mastercard credit cards will not be removed, but they can no longer be charged first. Only when the store’s sales proceeds balance is insufficient to cover the advertising spend will the system automatically charge the credit card, thus avoiding ad suspension due to unpaid fees as much as possible.

After the announcement, major cross-border seller communities have been continuously discussing. Cash flow pressure and capital turnover risk have become the hottest topics. Many sellers, after reading the rules, bluntly said: On the surface, it’s just a change in deduction order; in essence, it directly breaks the capital operation model built over many years.

This adjustment covers three main Sponsored Ad types: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display, which are the primary investment channels for most sellers’ daily advertising.

However, this policy does not target all sellers on the platform. It only applies to stores that have long used credit cards as their main advertising payment method and have received the targeted notification email from Amazon.

Sellers can perform a self-check through the following path: Seller Central → Advertising Console → Billing → Payment Settings

If the page shows “Deduct from balance”: if there is no official notification, the account is generally not on the adjustment list. If the page shows “Credit card deduction” + official notification email received: a plan must be made before August 1. The final judgment is based on Amazon’s targeted notification email.

To promote a smooth policy transition, Amazon has simultaneously released a limited-time incentive policy and opened the invoice cycle payment channel. Both paths have distinct pros and cons and involve important trade-offs.

Path ①: Actively switch to balance deduction to seize the limited-time subsidy bonus

Operation path: Advertising Console > Billing > Billing Preferences → Select [Deduct from Proceeds]

Benefit rules: If you manually complete the switch before August 1, you will receive a $2,500 monthly advertising credit for 5 consecutive months, up to a total of $12,500.

⚠️ Important premise: The subsidy is only for accounts that have received the new policy notification and proactively switched the deduction method.

Community groups widely remind of a key red line: the subsidy is only granted to sellers who actively take the step. If you wait for the system to automatically switch on August 1, you cannot receive any advertising credits, and the platform explicitly does not support retroactive issuance. Additional reminder: once you apply for invoice cycle payment, you cannot receive this subsidy.

Suitable for small and medium sellers with moderate ad budgets, stable store sales proceeds, ample cash flow, and no need for long credit terms.

Path ②: Apply for Pay by Invoice to preserve a cash buffer

For sellers with huge advertising volume, high capital tied up in stocking, and rigid demand for payment terms, the default balance deduction model brings extreme pressure. Monthly invoice settlement is the most important solution to hedge against the new policy.

⚠️ Risk note: Pay by Invoice requires Amazon qualification review, and submission does not guarantee approval.

After account approval, advertising fees will be unified into a monthly bill generated at the end of each month, with a 30-day payment grace period, preserving the previous cash flow rhythm to the greatest extent.

Many sellers in the community reported that they had long relied on credit cards to create a cash buffer. Previously, by using credit cards to settle ad fees, combined with Amazon’s payout cycle and the bank’s interest-free period, sellers could obtain around 45-60 days of cash float. Sellers could prioritize allocating proceeds for stocking and logistics procurement while deferring advertising costs. After the new policy, this cash buffer channel is significantly compressed.

(Source: Cifnews Editorial Department)

Seller’s Home Comments

Amazon’s August 1 new rule will compress sellers’ cash flow buffer, with ad deductions prioritized from the account balance. Sellers who receive the notice are advised to promptly assess their cash flow, switch to balance deduction, and claim the maximum $12,500 subsidy to offset short-term liquidity pressure.

Source: Cifnews
Original link: https://www.cifnews.com/article/187848