Amazon Customers Can Now Apply for Payments From $2.5 Billion Settlement
Easily one of the most successful companies in the world, Capital One Shopping estimated in December 2025 that customers place 12.87 million Amazon orders per hour on an average day. There are many reasons for that success, but one of the biggest has to be the fact that a November 2025 Forbes article named Amazon as the second most trusted brand in America.
Thanks to that reputation, consumers consistently pay Amazon money to purchase goods and services from the company. However, some of those customers can now apply to receive money from Amazon because the company reached a $2.5 billion settlement, from which some people can receive a portion.
Eligible Amazon Customers Can File to Receive a Portion of a $2.5 Billion Settlement
On January 6th, 2025, USA Today reported on the latest chapter in a legal battle between Amazon and The Federal Trade Commission that began in 2023. After those two entities reached a $2.5 billion settlement, the article detailed the fact that Amazon customers can apply to receive a portion of that money. The customers whose applications to receive a portion of the settlement are approved will be among the second wave of consumers ro receive money from the lawsuit. An earlier automatic payment was sent to eligible customers between November 12, 2025, and December 24, 2025.
Applicants who register to receive part of the settlement won't be approved unless they meet two specific requirements, according to USA Today's article. First off, customers must have signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. Secondly, they must have tried to cancel their Prime subscription and failed to do so, or signed up for the service through what is described as a "challenged enrollment flow." According to the court order stemming from the legal battle, signing up for Prime through a "challenged enrollment flow" means that those customers enrolled through specific pages on Amazon's website. Examples of that include the Shipping Option Select Page, the Single Page Checkout, or through a Prime Video enrollment page.
An FTC Lawsuit Led to Amazon’s $2.5 Billion Settlement
As the aforementioned USA Today article detailed, the reason why Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission came to a $2.5 billion settlement stems from an antitrust lawsuit that was first filed in 2023. That lawsuit alleged that Amazon coerced customers to sign up for Prime membership and then made leaving the program difficult.
In September 2025, an Amazon website featured a statement on the lawsuit settlement from the company. The company stated that they'd always followed the law, sought to be transparent about how to leave Prime, and worked to make memberships valuable for customers.
"Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers. We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years."