Amazon says it will live life without Venmo beginning January 10, 2024. The online retail giant will no longer accept Venmo as a payment method – a change that comes as a result of an agreement between Amazon and PayPal, which owns Venmo.
If you currently have Venmo enabled in your Amazon wallet, you will still be able to use it until January 10th. But, after that date you will need to choose another payment method, such as a debit or credit card, checking account, or installment plan.
An Amazon spokesperson acknowledged the change in an email to PYMNTS Thursday.
“Customers can still use nearly a dozen other payment options, such as debit cards, credit cards, checking accounts, or installments to pay for their orders,” the statement said.
Venmo’s side of the story? “Venmo and Amazon have agreed to disable Venmo as an option to pay on Amazon at this time,” a PayPal spokesperson said. “Customers can continue to add their Venmo debit card or credit card to their Amazon wallet to pay on Amazon. We have a strong relationship with Amazon and look forward to continuing to build on it.”
What will take Venmo’s place?
According to PYMNTS research, payment choice is a crucial factor for consumers, even ranking above 33 other factors like free delivery, refunds, disputes, and returns.
While the loss of Venmo as a payment option may be inconvenient for some customers, Amazon still offers a variety of other payment methods to choose from, including:
Visa (including the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card)
Amazon Store Card
Amazon Secured Card
MasterCard/EuroCard
Discover Network
American Express
Checking Account
JCB
China UnionPay (credit card only)
Visa, MasterCard, or American Express prepaid credit or gift cards
And if you need to split a payment between one of the accepted credit or debit cards and, say, an Amazon.com Gift Card, you can do that, but you can't split payment among multiple cards.
Amazon also accepts Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for the purchase of FSA or HSA eligible items. EBT Cash benefits are not available as a payment method.