What do Amazon “PMTS” fees mean on your Prime account?

It is important to check your bank and credit card statements regularly. Not only does it help you better understand your finances, keeping you on top of your income and expenses and helping you budget properly, but it can also help you identify financial gaps. Keeping an eye out for transactions or fees you don’t recognize can help you detect fraud early.

It’s especially important to monitor your transactions if you have an online shopping account with a retailer like Amazon, because if your debit or credit card is linked to that account and the account is compromised, the bad actor might be able to make unauthorized purchases using your card. I have personal experience with this: my Amazon account was compromised and the hacker used my debit card to purchase several Amazon gift cards that he then sent to himself. Fortunately, I identified the problem quickly and it was resolved, but I’ve remained vigilant ever since.

But while it’s crucial to watch out for surprise Amazon charges, it’s also important to be able to identify certain charges, so you can determine whether or not they’re legitimate. Amazon uses various charging descriptors on bank and credit card statements, and while the names of some of these charges are obvious (e.g. Amazon Bookstore), others are less obvious. Amazon PMTS fees on your Prime account can be one of those more confusing descriptors, but it’s only really worth worrying about in certain cases. Below we explain what an Amazon PMTS charge means on your account.

The Amazon PMTS billing descriptor may appear in various forms on your credit or bank statement, including amazn pmts (checkout), amzn.com/pmts, and Amazon Prime PMTS. Amazon PMTS fees are related to orders and transactions made with Amazon Pay, Amazon’s online payment processing service that allows you to pay for goods and services on Amazon, as well as use payment methods already associated with your Amazon account to pay for goods or services on compatible third-party websites and applications.

As such, PMTS charges on your account are often linked to an Amazon transaction you made through Amazon Pay. For example, users report seeing these fees when they’re billed for their Amazon Prime membership (which includes perks like Amazon Music and Amazon Luna), their monthly Prime Video membership, their monthly Alexa+ membership (if it’s a non-Prime membership), their books, games, and more. The appearance of vague fees can be especially jarring if they appear because you forgot to cancel your subscription after the Amazon Prime free trial period.

Keep in mind that these fees may also appear if you pay for goods and services on a third-party site or app using Amazon Pay. Some of the online stores that support Amazon Pay include Samsung, Belkin, NutriBullet, Kurt Geiger, and Grubhub, so if you haven’t purchased something on Amazon, you may have purchased something from a featured Amazon Pay store.

If you see PMTS fees on your Prime account and can’t identify where it’s coming from, the first thing you should do is search your transaction history for the relevant transaction. Additionally, you can go to the Your Memberships & Subscriptions page to check if the charges are related to a Prime or Prime Video subscription renewal, or a Prime Video channel add-on (like Shudder). Amazon warns that if you signed up for a Prime free trial and a separate Prime Video add-on subscription at the same time, the monthly fees for both may fall on different dates. So it’s worth confirming your Prime subscription renewal dates under Manage Prime.

Also check your Amazon Pay transactions by logging into Amazon Pay using your Amazon credentials. Under Activity, you’ll find all single Amazon Pay purchases, while all subscription agreements will be visible under the Merchant Agreements tab.

By following these methods, you should be able to identify what the PMTS charges were related to. However, if you find a matching Amazon transaction but can’t identify where it came from (be sure to check if it’s a family member or friend with access to your Amazon Pay), you can file a complaint, report fraud, or report a violation of the acceptable use policy with Amazon. To do this, find the transaction in the Amazon Pay Activity menu, click Details & Support, and select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu. However, if you find the malicious transaction under the Merchant Agreements tab, you need to go to Your Account and select Contact Us.