Amazon + Revolut = AMAZON ACCOUNT LOCK!?

Offtopic, is the only android I like :slight_smile:

So probably that’s the issue with Amazon… AVS. The address provided by Revolut doesn’t match the address provided by the client…

I also have my virtual Revolut Visa with Amazon.de and it works. But my account exists with Amazon since before they expanded from the US to Germany. So basically my account started 20plus years ago on Amazon.com. I guess this gives it some history and positive ranking.

Yes, it is reasonable to believe that those locks happen on newer Amazon accounts. I also have a long history with them.

Ah, this may explain why my amazon.com account got locked.

I use amazon.com for when I am going to be in the USA, and so collect the goods from friend I stay with.
In previous years I had paid with a UK-issued Amex and had no issues.
This time I used Revolut to save the exchange spread, and consistent with what other posters say above, it seems to have triggered “FRAUD” in the Amazon.com system.
They didn’t just refuse that order - they blocked the account and even after I sent proof of ID required a 'phone call.
I am not going to waste time talking to Amazon CS so I have abandoned the account.

I use the same virtual Revolut Visa card for amazon.de, co.uk and a com account with a shipping address in the US.

But I always use the same billing address / profile address that I am also using with Revolut. No problems so far.

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Are you using a secure internet connection?

If someone asks for any kind of details, personal or not, there maybe a chance, it’s a hacker, tapped into your connection and not the companies, especially in Bulgaria.

Revolut card is still a prepaid card, prepaid cards on Amazon equal big red flags therefore their system gets triggered.

That is not my experience. I use Revolut since 2015 with Amazon, in Germany, UK and the US. For books, stuff, and also the occasional prime subscription. Worked well every time.

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New account with delivery to Eastern Europe?

Well. Not sure. Basically if you have a prepaid card and you lose it, all your money is gone (that applies to all kinds of prepaid cards). That is obviously not the case with Revolut. Not sure why it is officially a prepaid card. It behaves more like a normal debit card. At least from my perspective.

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Not really. Prepaid credit cards are linked to an account. And the same issuer-acquirer-payment network infrastructure is used as with regular cards. The balance is not on the card itself. Otherwise, you couldn’t use such cards online.

Think of Paysafe cards for example. You can use the code online and if you lose the code your money is gone. No failsafe.

That Starbucks gift card? Same. You lose it - money gone.

That is real prepaid.

That’s your literal definition of “prepaid” but not what the industry uses the term for. :wink: It varies from country to country, but there are generally two defining features:

  • no credit checks
  • one can only spend what’s “on” the card

“On” the card of course means available on some sort of card account or e-money wallet, no overdraft or credit of some sort. (Debit cards can access overdraft of an underlying current account if applicable.)

Since legacy card payment networks are tricky in detail, issuers can’t control all aspects of it. Technically, a negative balance on prepaid cards can’t be prevented 100%. But issuers can configure their cards to limit their risks:

  • limit authorizations to online only
  • set the offline limit to “0”

Offline limits work like this: they are “stored” on the chip. Not the money, the limit. When an offline payment (beverage on a plane) is made, the limit is reduced. Next time the card’s chip get’s a connection to the bank’s servers, the limit resets. So an offline limit is technically a small credit allowance on debit cards, that’s not available on prepaid cards.

Why does this matter?

Besides technical aspects (when prepaid cards won’t work on planes, trains, with some vending machines that don’t have an online connection … ), it’s about risk assessment.

Car rentals are a good example. Technically, they could block deposits on prepaid cards as well. But many decided not to accept them, probably for a couple of reasons: weaker KYC and no credit check on the side of the issuing bank and a higher statistical risk for payment default.

Many car companies now accept debit cards for small and mid-sized cars. But also, acceptance is limited to cards that allow “delayed” transactions – where the demanded amount might be different from what was authorized. Maestro for example does not allow this, so you can see many car rentals not accepting them.

For more expensive rentals, many car rentals still want a credit card for the deposit. And that’s not about technical restrictions, it’s about the company’s risk assessment and how they rate a customer’s financial standing.

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For Amazon, however, delayed authorization does not matter. It is still about risk assessment though:

  • Prepaid card (normally/historically used by people without bank accounts, low credit score, spending/overdraft issues) = high risk of chargeback fraud

  • New account + new address = risk of fraudulent shipping address

  • Package sent to different country with a high-risk tag such as Romania, and non-local card used = high risk of credit card fraud (stolen card number)

  • No 3-D Secure, the card holder cannot be authenticated = no liability shift for above risks

A chargeback claim is expensive, even if the merchant is able to win back the funds of the transaction itself. In OP’s case Amazon added up the risks, some score limit was exceeded and the account was locked. Revolut should just add 3D (opt-in in the security settings next to “Online transactions”) and this will no longer happen.

I can see merchants offering subscriptions (recurring payments) being reluctant in accepting prepaid cards. It seems obvious that insufficient funds are more likely with theses cards compared to debit cards that are connected to someone’s current account with monthly incoming salary.

(3DS is going to be mandatory under regulations later this year. So it’s coming. Also, Amazon is known as a merchant that skips 3DS quite often despite having it integrated in their systems. Probably to cut costs.)

That’s why I said “from my perspective.“ :wink:

Well, I responded in an endeavor to put the industry’s naming convention into perspective for you. You were “not sure” why they name it prepaid, now you don’t have to wonder anymore. :wink:

Thank you for your response and trying to clear things up. :wink:

Fun fact: Mastercard named the product first “Prepaid Debit Mastercard”. That was probably even more confusing. They now deleted “debit” from marketing materials.

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For that type of payments, I’m using revolut with curve as a trojan horse.