Amazon Seller Central Deferred Transactions Update and Implications on Sellers

On October 18th, Amazon’s Seller Central quietly announced a significant update for sellers on the leading eCommerce platform. The big news from Amazon brings a major shift in payment reporting as you can now get a clearer view of your reserved payments in the new Deferred Transactions report.

Keep reading to learn more about this latest update and its potential implications for brands and Amazon sellers. We will also share insights from Tom Sesti, President of Blue Wheel, who recently discussed the Deferred Transactions update and its client impact with Sreenath Reddy, Founder & CEO of Intentwise.

If you'd like to watch our video discussing this update, you can watch it here.

The New Deferred Transactions Report

The latest Amazon update affects how payment data, specifically deferred transactions, is displayed in Seller Central. Previously, Amazon's system withheld payments until orders were shipped, with sales proceeds appearing as a lump sum in account-level reserves. Now, Amazon will hold payments until seven days after delivery, creating a new Deferred Transactions category. 

As part of its Payments Based on Delivery Date policy, Amazon will now typically hold your sales proceeds for 7 days after an order is delivered. This guarantees adequate funds are available for potential refunds or return requests, chargebacks initiated by buyers, or other order-related claims. A new “Deferred Transactions” status has been introduced on the Payments dashboard to enhance visibility into your reserved funds. 

Starting November 1st, 2024, your delivery date reserve amounts will be displayed as Deferred Transactions in the Total Balance box at the top of the Payments dashboard. Until then, these amounts may still appear under the account-level reserve section on your Payments dashboard and reports. Your dashboard will remain the same if you are not subject to the delivery date policy mentioned above.

Clicking on the Deferred Transactions balance gives you access to the Transaction View page that shows the list of orders, the reason for the deferral, and the estimated payment release date for each order.

How to Observe & Download Your Deferred Transactions

You can download a detailed report of your deferred transactions from Amazon Seller Central in three simple steps:

1. Access the Payments reports repository. 
2. Select 'Deferred transaction' under Report type. 
3. Click on 'Request report' to get a list of orders with expected payment release dates. 

Once a transaction is updated from deferred to released, it will no longer appear on the Deferred Transaction report. You can select the Transaction report type to download all released transactions from a specific period. It’s important to note that only new transactions posted after the Amazon update will be deferred. Older transactions will stay in account-level reserves until released for payment.

What Does the Deferred Transactions Report Mean for Brands & Sellers 

Amazon sellers previously found it challenging to understand the specific details regarding reserved funds shown in the general account-level reserves. However, the new Deferred Transactions feature provides greater clarity and transparency. Downloading a detailed report on deferred transactions will help you observe and track reserved payments, giving you better control over your finances.

The latest update will impact transaction reporting for brands that rely on financial event reports and transaction data from Seller Central, especially if they consider a sale complete only when it was previously recognized upon shipment.

According to Blue Wheel’s President, Tom Sesti, these deferred transactions are now displayed differently, which can cause discrepancies in net sales reporting, as shown in Companion, the proprietary reporting tool. The latest update has introduced confusion, as the Blue Wheel team found that certain clients’ orders appeared in the "All Orders" report but were missing in the Transaction report, meaning these sales are now delayed in accounting until Amazon releases the funds after the set period.

To manually access deferred transaction data in Amazon's Seller Central, start by going to the Transaction View page, where you can filter for specific transaction types. Select the Deferred Transactions filter and click Update to refresh the view. This will display all orders Amazon has marked as "deferred," meaning payments that will be held until 7 days after delivery. You can then download this Deferred Transactions report, which includes essential details like expected payment release dates, allowing you to track when Amazon plans to release funds for these sales. 

Additionally, you can access the Reports Repository in Seller Central to download the Deferred Transactions report for a broader view across accounts. While this process is manual, it provides visibility into withheld payments. Our agency is collaborating with Intentwise to incorporate this deferred data more consistently via API automation to ensure continuity in reporting.

To Conclude

In conclusion, Amazon's new Deferred Transactions update offers sellers a more transparent view of reserved funds, providing better control over financial planning on the platform. As Blue Wheel continues to work closely with partners to streamline these reporting changes, Amazon sellers can leverage the Deferred Transactions feature to gain deeper insights into payment timing and fund availability. 

We advise you to stay informed about the latest Amazon Seller Central news. Feel free to contact our Amazon Ads specialists with any questions or concerns.