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About the Amazon Honor System
What is the Amazon Honor System?
How can I use the Amazon Honor System to earn money?
What is a paybox?
How do I receive my money?
Does Amazon.com charge fees for the service?
What Web sites already use the Amazon Honor System?
The Amazon Honor System is a safe and easy way for you to collect voluntary payments for your Web site and to accept payments for access to your digital content. With tens of millions of customers and hundreds of millions of successful online transactions, Amazon.com knows how to make online payments simple and secure. Now, the Amazon Honor System lets you use Amazon.com's patented payment technology to collect online payments as small as $1.00.
The Amazon Honor System is versatile--you can create a unique payment application that meets the needs of your business and your customers. Two ways you can earn money with the Amazon Honor System are:
What are the benefits of the Amazon Honor System?
Amazon.com has successfully completed hundreds of millions of online transactions. Our extensive Internet experience has taught us that if you want to collect payments online, you've got to make it safe and easy. Now, the Amazon Honor System lets you harness the power of Amazon.com's payment system to collect money for your Web site and digital content. With the Amazon Honor System:
What is a PayPage?
A PayPage is your personalized page at Amazon.com where people come to pay you. It's like a product detail page at Amazon.com. Customers come to your PayPage, get the information they need to make a payment decision, and then click a button to send you money. Customize your PayPage with a title, a picture, or a logo and a text description. You can also add a goal chart or a payment tracker. Click here for more information on PayPages.
A paybox is a graphic image on your Web site that links to the Amazon Honor System. Customers come to your Web site, click on the paybox, and then arrive at your Honor System PayPage. You can customize your paybox to make it stand out on your site. Choose its shape, size, and color, and select its message. Because payboxes are served by Amazon.com, your paybox will even greet Amazon customers by name. Click here for more information on PayPages.
Amazon.com will transfer your Amazon Honor System earnings directly into your checking account. You can initiate a disbursement at any time, provided your Honor System account balance is at least $1.00. In addition, we will automatically disburse your earnings every 14 days (as long as you have at least $1.00 in your account). And, you can track your earnings and review your transactions online. Please note that Honor System payments are voluntary. Therefore, a payor may refund himself for any reason and with no questions asked up to 7 days after a payment is made. There is no process by which you may contest a payor-initiated refund.
The Amazon Honor System does not charge registration fees, set-up fees, or fixed participation fees. We do, however, charge transaction fees based on the amount of money you receive. The fee schedule is very simple. For each payment you receive, we will charge $0.30 plus 2.9% of the total transaction amount. The person making a payment is not charged any fees at all.
The Amazon Honor System can work for any Web site--big or small, well known or not yet discovered. Click here to view current Honor System members.
Registration
Why is a credit card required when registration is free?
Why is additional credit card information including billing address and phone number required?
Why do I need a U.S. credit card to use the Honor System?
What is Amazon.com's credit card security guarantee?
Why is checking account information required?
Why do I need a U.S. checking account?
How do I decipher the routing and account numbers on a check?
How do I provide a paper copy of my checking account documents?
Why is e-mail notification of approval required?
Terms of Use
Amazon Honor System fees
Participation Agreement
Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Registration Process
Amazon.com takes extreme care to protect the security and integrity of your account. Your private credit card information helps us verify your identity and prevent others from accessing your account. Our goal is to ensure there is no room for fraudulent activity. The only time we would ever charge your credit card is if your account balance is negative. Learn more about a negative account balance. Return to help index.
Amazon.com takes extra steps to protect your account security. In addition to requesting your credit card number, we also ask for your credit card's billing address and your contact telephone numbers. This additional information allows us to further ensure that you are the only one accessing your account and that no one is acting on your behalf without your authorization.
Return to help index.
At this time, we are able to offer the Amazon Honor System to those with U.S.-based credit cards only. We hope to be able to expand the Honor System offering in the future. Return to help index.
Click here to view the Amazon.com Safe Shopping Guarantee. Return to help index.
Your earnings will be disbursed directly into the checking account you designate. Currently, we provide disbursal to checking accounts only. We hope to be able to expand the Amazon Honor System offering in the future. Return to help index.
At this time, we are able to offer the Amazon Honor System to those with U.S.-based checking accounts only. We hope to be able to expand the Honor System offering in the near future. Return to help index.
The routing and checking account numbers from the face of your check allow us to determine your bank, its location, and which account to credit. That way, we can ensure that your earnings are transferred to the proper account. As with all the personal financial information we ask for, your checking account information is completely confidential.
Return to help index.
Occasionally, you will not be able to complete the checking account portion of your Amazon Honor System registration online. This may be due to a variety of reasons, but usually it's something as simple as a transposed number. You may be asked to fax us a voided check along with your name, e-mail address, birth date, and telephone number so we can process your application manually. Please be assured that the fax number you are sending this information to is secure.
Return to help index.
Once you've completed the registration process, you will receive e-mail notification when your Amazon Honor System account is approved. In most cases when your account is approved, you will receive the approval e-mail shortly after completing registration. You may begin creating PayPages and installing payboxes on your Web site before you receive the approval e-mail. However, you may not begin collecting money at a PayPage until your account is approved. People attempting to pay you before your account is approved will receive a message advising that the account is not yet open to receive money.
Return to help index.
The Amazon Honor System charges minimal transaction fees. The fee schedule is very simple. The person making a payment is not charged any fees at all. The person receiving a payment is assessed 2.9% of the total payment per transaction plus $0.30. The Honor System is designed to be self-service for your convenience. That way, our limited customer service costs allow us to keep your transaction fees low. Return to help index.
Click here to view the Amazon Honor System Participation Agreement. Return to help index.
Click here to view the Amazon.com Conditions of Use. Return to help index.
Click here to view the Amazon.com Privacy Notice. Return to help index.
Creating PayPages and Payboxes
View the Creating PayPages illustrated tutorial
How do I create a PayPage?
What features does a PayPage have?
These features appear in the What Your PayPage Says section:
These features appear in the More About You section:
These features appear in the Your PayPage Image section:
These features appear in the Your Payment Settings section:
How can I promote my PayPage independently of my Web site?
Your Thank You Messages
What is the Thank You page?
As with the PayPage, it's best that you personalize the Thank You page message to give the page its maximum impact. But we provide a sample message for your use if you prefer. Click here for examples of Thank You page messages.
The URL redirecting people back to your Web site completes the full circle of the Honor System experience by bringing your site's visitor back to where they started. Learn more about how the Thank You page URL can also serve as a powerful marketing tool. Click here to view an illustration of a Thank You page's features.
Return to help index.
How can I use the Thank You page URL?
What is the Thank You e-mail?
Payboxes
View the Creating Payboxes illustrated tutorial
How do I create a paybox?
What features does a paybox have?
How can I feature the paybox on my Web site?
Examples
View PayPage/paybox templates for various types of Web sites
View current Honor System members
Paypages
Click here to view the Creating PayPages illustrated tutorial. Return to help index.
Whether you're creating your first or your 101st PayPage, you'll start at Set Up Your PayPage. The PayPage's features are grouped into four categories: What Your PayPage Says, More About You, Your PayPage Image, and Your Payment Settings. You can customize one or more features in each category or simply rely on the default settings we provide. One great thing about creating a PayPage is that you can't make a mistake. Once you have your features customized to your liking, click a button to preview the PayPage. It's easy to correct a feature you're not satisfied with. Even after the PayPage is live and viewable you can still make adjustments to it. Return to help index.
A PayPage's customizable features are grouped into four categories: What Your PayPage Says, More About You, Your PayPage Image, and Your Payment Settings. Click here to view an illustration of a PayPage's features.
Return to help index.
Every PayPage has a unique URL. You'll see it at the bottom of the PayPage. This URL allows payors to return directly to your PayPage without having to find its paybox on your Web site first. You can use the URL to promote your PayPage independently of your Web site. For example, you could include the link in your e-mail mailings or in online and offline advertising of your Web site. Just as with a paybox on your website, a PayPage URL should be accompanied by text encouraging a reader to click it to pay you.
Return to help index.
The Thank You page the payor sees after sending you his payment has two key components: your special message and a URL to redirect the payor back to your Web site.
The URL you show your payors on their Thank You page serves two invaluable functions. First, it gives people who have paid you an easy link to return to your Web site. They started with you and we want to return them to you. Second, it provides a way for you to direct people who have paid to a special area of your Web site not otherwise available to those who haven't paid. This arrangement enables you to require rather than request payment before a payor can fully access your content or feature. Click here to see an example of how to use the Thank You page URL when payment is required to access digital content.
Return to help index.
The Thank You e-mail is another opportunity for you to personalize a special message to the person paying you. The e-mail opens with your message and we add a thank you message from the Amazon Honor System. We also provide a receipt for the payment and instructions about viewing the payment details. Return to help index.
Click here to view the Creating Payboxes illustrated tutorial. Return to help index.
PayPages and payboxes go hand-in-hand. You can create a PayPage's corresponding payboxes at the same time you create the PayPage or you can create them later. Choose a paybox style from the several we provide so its size and shape will stand out and be noticed on your Web site. Then customize the paybox's features or simply rely on the default settings we provide. One great thing about creating a paybox is that you can't make a mistake. Once the features are customized to your liking, click a button to preview the paybox. It's easy to correct a feature you're not satisfied with.
Return to help index.
These are a paybox's customizable features:
Return to help index.
The first step in earning Amazon Honor System money is encouraging your visitors to click a paybox on your Web site. One element is the paybox you customized and installed on your site. But there is more you can do. Your site and its features are unique, but have you considered:
· placing a paybox where visitors see it immediately upon arriving at a page;
· deploying multiple payboxes in a variety of sizes and styles throughout your site;
· tailoring your own text and graphics to explain the Honor System to your visitors and encourage them to pay;
· sectioning off an area of your Web site that only visitors who have paid can access;
· consistently providing up-to-date and valuable information and features attractively presented and easy to use. In other words, is your site "user friendly"?
Put yourself in your visitors' shoes when you evaluate your Web site. What would it take to get you to click to pay?
Return to help index.
Click here to view PayPage and paybox templates for various types of Web sites. Return to help index.
Click here to view current Honor System members. Return to help index.
Managing PayPages and Payboxes
What is the Manage PayPages page?
Can I create additional PayPages?
How do I manage a PayPage?
How do I manage a paybox?
How to View, Create, Edit, and Delete PayPages and Payboxes
Whether you have one PayPage or dozens, the Manage PayPages page will become your focal point. From this convenient central location, you can:
Return to help index.
As an approved member of the Amazon Honor System, you are entitled to create and maintain as many PayPages as your Web site's needs require. Simply click Create a new PayPage to get started. Just as when you created your first PayPage, you'll have an opportunity to preview the PayPage before it goes live.
Return to help index.
You may find that a PayPage must be edited or deleted as its purpose changes, as its payments settings must be updated, or as its goals are met. From the Manage PayPages page, you can:
Just as with PayPages, you may find that you should edit or delete one or more of the payboxes associated with a PayPage. Simply click the Manage this PayPage's payboxes link to:
Your Account and Your Earnings
View the Managing Your Account illustrated tutorial
What is your Honor System Account page?
How do I manage my transactions?
Every transaction has its own detail page which contains important information about the transaction. You may access the details page by clicking the transaction identification number in the transaction's brief listing. You'll find the brief listings at the bottom of Your Honor System Account page or as search results after you have searched your transactions.
The details you can review for a transaction from its detail page or its brief listing include:
To find one or a group of transactions, you may either click the "View your recent transactions" link on the Your Honor System Account page or click the "Search all transactions" link. If you choose to search all your transactions, you'll be asked for the timeframe you're interested in and you may limit your search further by transaction ID, transaction type, or transaction status. The search results page will list all your transactions that meet your search guidelines.
Managing Your Earnings
Are there any limits on my account or transactions?
How are my earnings disbursed?
If your account balance is at least $1.00, we will automatically disburse your earnings to you every 14 days. In most cases, you will not receive a paper check; the funds will automatically transfer directly into your checking account. We'll send you an e-mail confirmation that your earnings have been disbursed. If your account balance is less than $1.00 on your scheduled disbursement date, the balance will rollover to the next automatic disbursement date. The balance will continue to roll over until it reaches the $1.00 minimum disbursement limit.
After waiting at least 14 days after your Amazon Honor System registration is approved, you may request earnings disbursals whenever your account balance is at least $1.00. These special requests do not override the automatic disbursal system discussed above. We ask that you wait at least five business days for these special disbursals to appear in your checking account. Please note that if you update or change your checking account information, you must wait at least 14 days before receiving an automatic disbursal or requesting a special disbursal assuming your account balance is at least $1.00.
Occasionally, a disbursal of earnings (whether it was automatic or specially requested) will not properly process. This is known as a failed transfer. If you specially requested an earnings disbursal and the transfer failed, you may reinitiate the transfer by clicking the "Reinitiate transfer to process this transaction" link at the bottom of the transfer transaction's detail page. Or you may simply wait for the next scheduled automatic disbursal to occur. If your specially requested transfers repeatedly fail, please review your account settings to be sure they are accurate.
Return to help index.
What is my Honor System Account balance?
What are refunds and chargebacks?
When a payor requests a refund, you'll be notified by e-mail and by updated information on your transaction details page for the particular payment. We'll transfer the net payment amount you received out of your account and re-apply it to your payor's credit card. Because of the voluntary nature of Honor System payments, there is no process by which you may contest a payor's refund request.
A chargeback occurs when a payor notifies his credit card company that he disputes a payment charged to his credit card. As with a refund request, when a payor claims a chargeback we'll transfer the net payment amount you received out of your account and re-apply it to your payor's credit card. Because of the voluntary nature of Honor System payments, there is no process by which you may contest a payor's chargeback claim.
Return to help index.
Your payor's privacy A payor may request that we provide you with additional information about a payment. If a payor selects this option, you will receive an e-mail from the Honor System containing the payor's name, e-mail address, the date and amount of the payment, the PayPage where the payment was made, and the transaction ID.
Return to help index.
Your Honor System Account
Click here to view the Managing Your Account illustrated tutorial.
Return to help index.
Your Amazon Honor System account is entirely separate from any other Amazon.com account you may have such as your retail account, an Associates account, or a Marketplace, Auctions, or zShops account. Your Honor System account is managed from the Your Honor System Account page. Features of this page include:
Return to help index.
The Amazon Honor System offers you several ways to manage your transactions whether they are payments to you or a disbursal of your earnings. Depending on the nature of your website, some ways may be more valuable to you than others.
Transaction type. Every transaction is of one of these types:
Status. A transaction's status may be:
The download for which payment was made
Yes. Because customers use their credit cards to make payments, we set limits to prevent misuse of the service. There are limits on both the size of individual transactions and the total dollar amount processed in a given period. The maximum dollar amount we can process for any individual transaction is $50. The amount of money you can receive in a given time period is based on our evaluation of your application. Similarly there is a set limit on the total Honor System payments an individual can make in a given period. At this time, contribution and receive limits are set and cannot be raised.
You may begin earning money with the Amazon Honor System before you've provided the checking account information requested during registration. However, we cannot transfer your earnings to you until you tell us which checking account to disburse to.
Your account balance will likely be positive most of the time. However, there are circumstances in which your balance may be negative. For example, a recent disbursal of earnings took your account balance to $0.00 and you then decided to refund a particular transaction. The best approach is to authorize payment when your account balance is negative. Do this by clicking the "Pay your negative balance now" link on the Your Honor System Account page. If your negative account balance reaches -$5.00 or less (e.g., -$6.50), we will automatically charge your credit card in the amount of the negative balance. This is the only instance where the Amazon Honor System uses your credit card for anything other than identity and account verification. If your negative account balance is more than -$5.00 (e.g., -$4.00), the balance will roll over to the next automatic payment date occurring within 14 days. The balance will continue to roll over until it either reaches the -$5.00 limit or until three 14-day automatic payment periods have passed. In either case, your credit card will be charged in the amount of the negative balance. Return to help index.
Refunds may be initiated by the payor up to 7 days after the payment is made. Refunds may be initiated by you up to 7 days after the payment is made. You'll find a "Refund this transaction to the payor" link at the bottom of payments transaction detail pages. Click it to refund the payor's payment.
Amazon.com and the Amazon Honor System take your payor's privacy seriously. From the "How do we know your name?" link on a paybox, we address a payor's main concerns:
