As a consultant helping hundreds of small businesses maximize their e-commerce sales, one of the most common questions I get asked relates to the "Amazon Prime PMTS" payment descriptor.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll leverage my experience managing 7-figure Amazon ad spend to breakdown exactly what Amazon Prime PMTS means, how you can use this payment data to enhance your business, and tips for handling any unauthorized charges.
A Complete Overview of Amazon Prime Memberships
Amazon Prime is foundation of the e-commerce giant‘s business, with over 200 million members worldwide. Available membership tiers include:
- Amazon Prime: $14.99 per month or $139 per year for free 1-2 day delivery, Prime Video, Prime Music and more
- Prime Student: Discounted rate for college students at $7.49 per month or $69 per year
- Prime Video: $8.99 per month for video streaming only
- Business Prime: $179 per year for bulk shipping supplies and business-only Prime benefits
The sign-up process typically involves a 30-day free trial before the first payment is charged. Memberships auto-renew by default unless cancelled manually.
Now that we‘ve covered the Prime basics, let‘s breakdown what PMTS means.
Decoding the Amazon Prime PMTS Payment Descriptor
When your Prime membership fee is charged to your credit card, it won‘t just show up as an "Amazon" charge. Instead, you‘ll see PMTS, which stands for Payments.
This descriptor allows Amazon to uniquely identify Prime subscription revenue for tracking and accounting purposes.
On Visa statements, Amazon Prime PMTS appears as "AMZN.COM/PMTS".
For Mastercard, it displays as "AMZN MKTP US".
So in essence, Amazon Prime PMTS just refers to charges related to your Prime membership fees, whether monthly or annual.
Why PMTS Data Is Valuable for E-Commerce Sellers
As a merchant selling products through Fulfilled By Amazon, your PMTS reports can provide valuable insights into how Prime drives customer purchases.
You can analyze PMTS trends to identify how factors like offering Prime delivery, running Lightning Deals and more impact your sales velocity.
For example, one supplement seller I consulted with saw a +62% increase in purchases after displaying their "Prime Eligible" badge more prominently across their listings.
They were able to confirm this uplift in demand by comparing unit sales data pre-and-post update to the corresponding jump in PMTS revenue.
Actionable Tips If You See Unexpected Amazon Prime Charges
If you notice an Amazon Prime PMTS charge on your credit card statement without having a Prime membership, here are my top recommendations:
- Contact Amazon Customer Service ASAP to report the unauthorized charge and secure your account
- Get a new card reissued in case your existing card number has been compromised
- Enable SMS notifications for all credit card purchases to catch unwanted charges faster
- Review recent order history across all Amazon accounts to check for anything unfamiliar
- Set up account alerts to be notified whenever new shipping addresses are added
By following this advice, you can minimize headaches from any fraudulent PMTS charges while continuing to leverage Prime‘s benefits for your e-commerce business.
I hope this complete overview has helped explain what Amazon Prime PMTS is, how to unlock its business insights and handle unauthorized transactions. Feel free to reach out with any other selling questions!
