Amazon to pay US$2.5 billion for allegedly duping millions to get Prime

Amazon.com will pay US$2.5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers to settle the US Federal Trade Commission’s allegations that it deceived its customers to generate subscriptions, the FTC said on Thursday.

While a win for consumers and the FTC, the settlement is relatively painless for Amazon: the company takes in around US$2.5 billion in sales every 33 hours. Shares of Amazon were nearly unchanged after the news.

Around 35 million Prime customers will be eligible for payout from a US$1.5 billion fund, the FTC said. Amazon will pay US$1 billion in fines to the FTC. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Customers who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025 through certain offers – and who used few Prime benefits afterward – will automatically receive US$51, according to court documents.

The settlement also allows customers to submit claims for payment if they tried to cancel Prime and failed during that time.

Amazon said in a statement that the deal allows it to move forward and focus on customers.