The Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that Amazon will accelerate and expand payments to eligible consumers under a $2.5 billion settlement resolving allegations involving the company’s Prime subscription enrollment and cancellation practices.
Under the September 2025 settlement, Amazon was required to pay up to $1.5 billion in refunds to consumers and a $1 billion civil penalty. The FTC said Amazon has issued more than $845 million in consumer payments as of September.
A federal court this week approved a joint motion from the FTC and Amazon revising the refund process. Under the revised order, more consumers will qualify for refunds, the maximum total payment will increase from $51 to $200 and future payments will be distributed automatically without requiring consumers to submit claims or additional paperwork.
“The revised order will ensure more consumers who were harmed by Amazon’s deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices benefit from the FTC’s historic settlement,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “This action underscores the FTC’s commitment to ensuring companies return money to consumers harmed by unlawful and deceptive business practices.”
The original order provided refunds of up to $51 to consumers who used fewer than 10 Prime benefits during a one-year period. Under the revised order, Amazon will begin providing automatic payments to millions of additional consumers who used between 11 and 20 Prime benefits during a one-year period.
Those consumers will become eligible for automatic refunds beginning Oct. 1. Payments will be distributed through Venmo, PayPal or mailed checks, without requiring consumers to submit a claim or complete forms.
If consumer-accepted payments do not reach the required threshold by February 2027, Amazon will provide additional automatic payments to consumers who previously received refunds under the settlement. Consumers who accepted earlier payments could receive an additional $149, bringing their total payment to as much as $200.
That round of supplemental payments is expected to begin by April 2027.
The FTC said Amazon is responsible for administering the refund program and warned that the agency is not contacting consumers about refunds in the case. The agency also said Amazon will never ask consumers to pay money to receive a refund.
