Integration overview

Amazon Pay provides buyers with a secure, trusted, and convenient way to sign in and pay for their purchases on your site by using their Amazon credentials. See browser support for information about the operating systems, browsers, and browser versions that Amazon Pay supports.

Use Payment Method on File to set up a buyer’s payment method for future purchases. It is an Amazon-hosted experience within Payment Method on File that enables the buyer to save Amazon Pay as a payment method in your mobile app or website outside or during a purchase.

Payment Method on File is useful for merchants that collect payment details upfront, and for those that need the flexibility to process transactions when the buyer is no longer present:

A food delivery service that collects payment details before the buyer places their first order
A ride hailing mobile app that initiates a transaction after the buyer is no longer present
A car rental company that initiates an additional transaction based on fees incurred after the rental has been returned (e.g., toll road fees)
An e-commerce retailer that aims to optimize their mobile app checkout experience by not redirecting the buyer outside of the app to complete each purchase
A merchant that processes transactions in additional channels (e.g., a phone transaction, an offline transaction)

For merchants in European countries impacted by PSD2 regulations, the Payment Method on File setup flow always presents a challenge to the buyer after they have confirmed their preferred payment method. This is designed to optimize the payment method for future purchases.

It is possible to setup Payment Method on File with 3 different flows:

Setup outside of the purchase flow
Setup with express checkout purchase flow
Setup with end of checkout (Additional Payment Button) purchase flow

Below are the detail instructions how to launch a custom checkout experience through different flows.

Setup outside of the purchase flow

User experience

The buyer is signed in to their account on your mobile app or website.
The buyer clicks on the Amazon Pay button to start the setup flow.
The buyer signs in and confirms their preferred payment method on the Amazon Pay-hosted page. This page includes a buyer consent to save the selected payment instrument for future purchases.
The buyer is redirected back to your app or website and shown Amazon Pay as a saved payment method.

Steps to integrate

Get set up for integration - register for an Amazon Pay merchant account, create a Sandbox test buyer account, and secure communication.
Add the Amazon Pay button wherever buyer starts payment methods on file setup.
Verify & complete checkout was successful, once the buyer returns to your site after checkout is complete.
Manage payments using payment method on file each time you need to charge the customer. Only applicable for payment method on file integration.
Manage refunds in case you need to refund a payment.
Test your integration thoroughly in Sandbox, using test buyer accounts and simulation strings.
Take your integration live by updating the API endpoints.

Integration sequence diagram

Setup with express checkout purchase flow

User experience

The buyer is signed in to their account on your mobile app or website.
The buyer clicks on the Amazon Pay button to start checkout.
The buyer signs in and confirms their preferred payment instrument, and optionally selects a shipping address on the Amazon Pay-hosted page. This page includes a buyer consent to save the selected payment instrument for future purchases.
The buyer is redirected back to your order review page for confirmation.
The buyer completes checkout on the Amazon Pay-hosted page by responding to the multi-factor authentication (identity validation) challenge, if prompted, or by selecting another payment method if payment was declined.
Amazon Pay redirects the buyer back to your confirmation page.

Steps to integrate

Get set up for integration - register for an Amazon Pay merchant account, create a Sandbox test buyer account, and secure communication.
Add the Amazon Pay button wherever buyer starts checkout.
Display shipping and payment info to display checkout information, offer shipping options if applicable, and calculate additional costs.
Set payment info and redirect to Amazon Pay for processing.
Verify & complete checkout was successful, once the buyer returns to your site after checkout is complete.
Manage payments using payment method on file each time you need to charge the customer. Only applicable for payment method on file integration.
Manage refunds in case you need to refund a payment.
Test your integration thoroughly in Sandbox, using test buyer accounts and simulation strings.
Take your integration live by updating the API endpoints.

Integration sequence diagram

Setup with end of checkout (Additional Payment Button) purchase flow

User experience

The buyer is signed in to their account on your mobile app or website.
The buyer clicks on the Amazon Pay button to start checkout.
The buyer signs in and confirms their preferred payment method on the Amazon Pay-hosted page. This page includes a buyer consent to save the selected payment instrument for future purchases.
The buyer completes checkout on the Amazon Pay-hosted page by responding to the multi-factor authentication (identity validation) challenge, if prompted, or by selecting another payment method if payment was declined.
Amazon Pay redirects the buyer back to your confirmation page.

Steps to integrate

Get set up for integration - register for an Amazon Pay merchant account, create a Sandbox test buyer account, and secure communication.
Add the Amazon Pay button wherever buyer starts checkcout.
Verify & complete checkout was successful, once the buyer returns to your site after checkout is complete.
Manage payments using payment method on file each time you need to charge the customer.
Manage refunds in case you need to refund a payment.
Test your integration thoroughly in Sandbox, using test buyer accounts and simulation strings.
Take your integration live by updating the API endpoints.