Amazon is giving some relief to sellers who participate in the Amazon Lending program. The company announced on Wednesday it is pausing payments interest-free through April.
As we reported last week, sellers were growing concerned about how they would make payments given the fact Amazon FBA is refusing inbound shipments for all products except those deemed essential due to the COVID-19 outbreak (household staples and medical supplies).
Amazon Lending informed participants in an email that it would not collect loan repayments between March 26, 2020 and April 30, 2020. Importantly, Amazon said loans will not accrue interest during that period and wrote, “Amazon will not initiate any collections and the loan will not be considered past due. This will not impact your future loan eligibility.
Sellers should be aware that there’s a chance funds may still be collected from their account as it works on implementing the pause – “Please contact us and we will refund your payment,” it advised sellers.
And for sellers who wish to continue paying off their loans, Amazon said they would need to make manual ACH payments from the Lending dashboard in their Seller Central accounts.
Loan repayments will restart on May 1, 2020.
The full email including FAQs follows below:
Dear Selling Partner,
Effective March 26 through April 30, 2020, we will be pausing repayments on your outstanding loan with Amazon Lending. Your loan will not accrue interest during this period. Loan repayments will restart on May 1, 2020. Your next loan statement will be on the same day of the month as you have now. You will have the same number of remaining payments once repayment resumes.
Please note, it will take time to implement this change throughout our tracking systems, so you may still receive a loan repayment notice issued after that date. You can disregard the notice.
If you have questions, please reach out to amazon-lending@amazon.com.
Sincerely,
Amazon Lending
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long will the loan repayments be paused? Loan repayments for loans directly financed by Amazon Lending will not be collected between March 26, 2020 and April 30, 2020. During this period, Amazon will not initiate any collections and the loan will not be considered past due. This will not impact your future loan eligibility.
- Will my loan repayments start again after April 30? Yes. After April 30, 2020, your ordinary loan repayments will restart and the remaining loan term will be extended automatically to account for this period.
- Will the loan continue to accrue interest? During the period that loan repayments are paused, the loan will not accrue any interest.
- What if loan repayments were still withdrawn from my account between March 26 through April 30, 2020? We’re working on implementing this pause in loan repayments throughout our tracking systems, but there’s a chance funds may still be collected from your account for your payment. Please contact us and we will refund your payment.
- What if I want to continue paying off my loan? From the Lending dashboard in your Seller Central account, you will need to make manual ACH payments.
- What if I have additional questions regarding my loan? If you need more assistance, email amazon-lending@amazon.com with your questions.
