Shopify may restrict Amazon's Buy with Prime payment service

According to foreign media reports, Shopify is taking measures to boycott Amazon's one-click payment service.

Shopify has issued warnings to merchants who try to install Amazon's "Shop With Prime" button, saying it violates the platform's terms of service and could pose a security risk, according to research firm Marketplace Pulse.

Amazon launched Buy With Prime in April, positioning it as a way for merchants to increase traffic to their own websites. The service allows merchants to add the Prime logo and offer Amazon's fast shipping options on their websites. The retail giant's Prime members can check out using their own Amazon accounts.

Shopify will not protect merchants using Buy with Prime from fraudulent orders, according to a notice the company sent to merchants, which also warned that Amazon's service could steal customer data and erroneously charge customers.

Shopify's terms of service require merchants to use Shopify's checkout feature when selling through their online store.

However, merchants can also use the payment function that cooperates with Shopify's payment platform. In order to cooperate with Shopify, third-party payment providers need to agree to Shopify's Partner Program Agreement and API Terms.

Amazon 's Shop With Prime feature is in direct competition with Shopify's instant payment service Shop Pay.

Shopify has been working to expand this functionality beyond its own platform, and last year it inked partnerships with Facebook and Google.

When Amazon announced the launch of its Shop With Prime service in April this year , Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke said we "welcome" the integration of this feature into Shopify's payment platform.

“Amazon’s new features are consistent with our company’s values, and this is not a zero-sum game as some people have suggested,” Lutke told investors on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

But privately, Shopify may not be very friendly to Amazon's new payment feature. The Information reported in May that Lutke's remarks sparked an internal debate about whether Shopify should integrate the feature on its website.

A Shopify spokesperson said Lutke’s comments were his personal views, adding that the company needed to gather more details before making a decision on the issue .

Shopify has become another good choice for online sellers besides Amazon. The Canadian company initially provided software support to businesses to help them build online stores.

However, in May this year, Shopify acquired the third-party delivery service company Deliverr, bringing it into direct competition with Amazon's logistics business.

In response to Shopify’s claim that using Buy With Prime is unsafe, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We hold information collected through the use of Buy With Prime, including shopper data, to Amazon’s high security standards. We use this information to improve the service for merchants and shoppers.”

In response, Shopify said its terms of service are designed to protect merchants and that violations could trigger warnings.

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