PayPal is most often associated with Ebay, but the online payment platform has long outgrown its former owner. Now, PayPal is a massive payment transfer platform operating in more than 200 countries around the world. With all that expansion, you’d think that it would be easy to use PayPal on Amazon, the world’s largest ecommerce platform.
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In reality the situation is more complicated. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Amazon’s PayPal support.
Can you use PayPal on Amazon?
Yes, you can technically use your PayPal account to buy things on Amazon, but you will need to jump through some hoops in order to do it.
You will need to jump through some hoops to use PayPal on Amazon.
Does Amazon accept PayPal natively? No it does not. There is currently no way to link your PayPal account directly to Amazon, despite thousands of other online retailers allowing customers to use PayPal without the hassle.
Before we get into the workarounds, you might want to ask yourself whether or not you even need to use Amazon for your purchase. Many other retailers carry the same items and feature price matching options. Amazon made its name as the convenient everything store, but with PayPal this simply isn’t the case.
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The other thing to consider is why PayPal isn’t officially accepted on Amazon. One reason is it’s historical association with Ebay, one of Amazon’s main competitors, and the other is that PayPal itself competes with Amazon’s own payment service, called Amazon Pay.
With that out of the way, there are two main ways to use your PayPal balance to buy products on Amazon. One involves applying for PayPal’s (free) Cash card, and the other uses gift cards to get around the lack of integration entirely.
How to use a PayPal Cash card on Amazon
One of the most useful accessories to a PayPal account is the PayPal Cash card, which is effectively a Mastercard tied to your PayPal balance. It’s accepted anywhere a normal Mastercard is accepted, including Amazon.
What’s more, it’s completely free to apply for a PayPal Cash card. There are some fees involved for withdrawing money from an ATM, but it doesn’t cost a penny to maintain the card or make purchases on Amazon. It’s worth noting that it isn’t available in all countries, and even if you are in one of the supported countries there are some special requirements. We’ve listed the requirements for US accounts below.
- No outstanding account issues to resolve.
- Have a telephone number tied to the account.
- Have a confirmed address tied to the account.
- Confirm your birth date and social security number with PayPal.
If your PayPal account meets all the requirements above, all you need to do is apply here. Business account holders can also apply for a PayPal Business Debit Mastercard, but the process is largely the same.
Once you have your PayPal Cash card, it’s a breeze to use it to buy products on Amazon. Just enter the card number at checkout, and Amazon will accept it like any other debit card.
How to use PayPal to buy Amazon gift cards
If it’s not possible to get a PayPal Cash card, you still have one more option to buy products on Amazon with your PayPal balance: gift cards. There are countless ways to buy Amazon gift cards with your PayPal account, including Ebay, Dundle, eGifter, and more.
Once you have purchased the Amazon gift card with your PayPal account credit, it just takes a few moments to add it to your Amazon account. You will want to add the gift card to your account before making any purchases, as it won’t work alway work at the checkout screen.
How to redeem a PayPal-purchased Amazon gift card
- Log into your Amazon account.
- Mouse over your name in the top right and navigate to Your Account.
- Click Apply a Gift Card to Your Account.
- Enter the gift card code and click Apply to Your Balance.
The next time you make a purchase on Amazon you can use your PayPal-purchased gift card balance at checkout. Note that if the value of the purchase exceeds your Amazon balance, you can pay the difference with a debit or credit card.
Check out some of our other PayPal guides below.