Amazon has started sending out a fresh round of refund payments to Prime subscribers as part of an expanded settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, with the maximum payout nearly quadrupling from $51 to $200 per person.

The payments stem from the FTC's lawsuit accusing Amazon of enrolling customers in Prime without clear consent and making the service deliberately difficult to cancel. Amazon settled the case for $2.5 billion without admitting wrongdoing, agreeing to simplify cancellation and pay refunds to affected members.

Under the revised payout structure, the FTC expanded eligibility to cover consumers who used between 11 and 20 Prime benefits in a 12-month stretch — not just the lightest users — and lifted the per-person cap to $200. Anyone who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and fits the usage criteria should expect an automatic payment; no claim form or response is required.

How the money is arriving

Amazon is distributing the payments electronically through Venmo or PayPal where possible, or by mailed check, according to reporting on the rollout. The FTC says all eligible customers should be paid by April 2027, and warns that anyone contacted separately asking for bank details or a fee to "unlock" a refund is likely dealing with a scammer, since no action is required to receive the legitimate payments.

NO CLAIM FORM. NO FEE. IF SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO PAY TO GET PAID, IT'S NOT THE FTC.

Consumer advocates have cautiously welcomed the expanded payouts but note the $2.5 billion settlement remains a fraction of Amazon's annual revenue. For the millions of Prime members newly eligible for a payment, though, the practical upshot is simple: a deposit — or a check — that most won't have had to ask for.