*Amazon has initiated the first round of payments tied to its $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, and some eligible Prime customers began receiving funds starting Nov. 12.
According to USA Today, the disbursements mark the beginning of a two-phase payout process ordered after Amazon agreed to resolve the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit filed in 2023. The lawsuit accused the company of pushing consumers into Prime enrollments and creating barriers that made cancellation unusually difficult. Amazon rejected the claims and stated it has “always followed the law.”
In a statement, Amazon said, “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world.” The company added, “We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.” Despite the denial of wrongdoing, the settlement outlines specific criteria for determining who can receive compensation.
To qualify, customers must have joined Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. They must also have either tried unsuccessfully to cancel or enrolled through what the court describes as a “challenged enrollment flow,” which covers several Prime sign-up pathways, such as the “Universal Prime Decision Page” and the “Shipping Option Select Page.” These conditions determine eligibility for both automatic payments and the later claim-based process.
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The first payment wave requires no action from customers and applies only to those who used Prime benefits three or fewer times over any 12-month period. These payouts are sent via PayPal or Venmo, and unclaimed funds will be reissued as paper checks after 15 days. A second wave will open in January, when a claims administrator provides instructions for eligible users—those who used Prime benefits 10 or fewer times within a year—to formally submit a request.
Payments from the settlement are capped at $51 per customer. Final amounts depend on how much each person paid in Prime membership fees during their subscription period.
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