Amazon Is Updating Its Business Solutions Agreement: What the August 2026 Change Means for Sellers

Amazon is making an important change to the contract that governs its relationship with sellers.

Beginning August 24, 2026, Amazon is updating its Business Solutions Agreement, commonly called the BSA, to place additional restrictions on a seller's ability to transfer certain rights or obligations under the agreement or use those rights as collateral.

For a small business owner, this can sound like highly technical contract language. However, the practical implications are much easier to understand.

If you borrow money to purchase inventory, use your Amazon sales or receivables to secure financing, plan to sell your Amazon business, bring in a new owner, or restructure the company that operates your Seller Central account, this change may be relevant to you.

The update does not mean that Amazon sellers cannot borrow money or sell their businesses. Instead, sellers need to pay closer attention to how those transactions are structured and what rights are being given to another person, buyer, or lender.

What Is Amazon's Business Solutions Agreement?

The Business Solutions Agreement is the contract between Amazon and the businesses that use Amazon's seller services.

When a business registers for or uses Amazon's services, it agrees to comply with the BSA, along with the applicable Service Terms and Program Policies.

This means that Amazon's rules for sellers do not exist only in Seller Central policies. The BSA also establishes contractual rules concerning payments, account termination, Amazon services, seller responsibilities, dispute resolution, and other aspects of the relationship between Amazon and the seller.

The August 2026 change concerns Section 18 of the BSA, which is titled "Miscellaneous."

Where Exactly Is the BSA Changing?

Section 18 currently states that a seller may not assign the BSA to another party without Amazon's prior written consent.

In practical terms, Amazon already did not allow a seller to simply take its agreement with Amazon and hand it over to an unrelated person or business without Amazon's approval.

The August 24 update reportedly expands that restriction.

Rather than focusing only on transferring the agreement itself, the updated language addresses the transfer of a seller's rights or obligations under the agreement and expressly addresses pledging those rights as collateral.

That distinction is important because a business can give another party rights connected to its Amazon operations without necessarily attempting to transfer the entire Seller Central account.

For example, a financing agreement might give a lender certain rights involving the money the seller expects to receive from Amazon.

The updated language means sellers should look more carefully at arrangements like these.

What Does This Mean for a Small Amazon Business?

Consider a simple example.

An Amazon seller wants to purchase $75,000 of inventory for the holiday season but does not have enough cash available to pay the supplier.

The seller obtains financing.

There is nothing unusual about that. Small businesses borrow money to purchase inventory every day.

The important question under the updated BSA is what the seller promises the lender in exchange for that financing.

If the lender simply loans the business money and the business later makes payments from its regular bank account, the arrangement may be very different from one in which the seller gives the lender a contractual claim or security interest in the seller's right to receive Amazon disbursements.

The distinction is not simply whether the business has a loan.

It is what the financing documents say the lender has rights to.

That is why Amazon sellers with existing financing should not assume that they are automatically violating the BSA. They should instead determine whether their financing agreements specifically transfer or pledge rights connected to their Amazon account or Amazon payments.

How Could This Affect Business Financing?

Many e-commerce businesses rely on financing to purchase inventory, pay suppliers, advertise products, and manage the delay between spending money and receiving marketplace revenue.

Some financing arrangements are secured by business assets. Others may specifically reference marketplace receivables, Amazon proceeds, or future Amazon disbursements.

Those distinctions could become more important after August 24.

For example, imagine that an Amazon seller expects to generate $100,000 in Amazon sales over the next several months.

A lender provides the seller with $40,000 today. As part of the financing agreement, the seller gives the lender a security interest in certain future Amazon receivables.

That is the type of arrangement sellers should review carefully under the updated Section 18.

Amazon's BSA contains several provisions governing how sellers receive their money. Section S-5 governs the remittance of Sales Proceeds, while Section P-3 explains the seller's interest in Sales Proceeds held by the applicable Amazon Payments Agent.

The new Section 18 language could therefore become relevant when a financing agreement attempts to transfer or pledge rights created by those provisions.

This does not necessarily mean that every revenue-based financing arrangement, business loan, line of credit, or merchant cash advance violates Amazon's agreement.

The actual financing documents matter.

What Should I Look for in My Loan Documents?

Small businesses with financing do not necessarily need to become experts in secured transactions. However, they should know what questions to ask.

A seller should determine whether its financing documents give a lender rights to its Amazon account, Amazon receivables, marketplace proceeds, future disbursements, or contractual payment rights.

For example, suppose your financing company automatically withdraws $2,000 from your business checking account every week.

That fact alone does not tell you whether the BSA update affects your financing.

You would need to determine what you pledged when you obtained the loan.

There is an important difference between a lender receiving repayment from money that has already reached your bank account and a lender claiming rights to money that Amazon is contractually obligated to pay you.

The language of the financing agreement determines what rights the lender actually received.

Does This Mean I Cannot Sell My Amazon Business?

No.

The BSA update should not be interpreted as a general prohibition against selling an Amazon business.

However, it does mean that sellers need to distinguish between selling a business and transferring an Amazon account or contractual rights under the BSA.

Imagine that you built an Amazon business over five years and another company wants to acquire it.

The business may include valuable assets such as trademarks, inventory, product listings, supplier relationships, websites, intellectual property, and goodwill.

Those assets can be part of a business transaction.

The Amazon account presents a separate issue because it operates under a contract between Amazon and a particular person or legal entity.

A transaction in which someone simply purchases an Amazon account, receives the login credentials, changes the banking information, and begins operating the account under the previous owner's agreement presents a very different situation from a properly structured sale of a business.

The updated Section 18 makes that distinction even more important.

What If I Am Bringing in a Partner or Changing My LLC?

Business ownership also changes over time.

A seller may bring in an investor, reorganize its business, create a new LLC, sell part of the company, or move operations from one entity to another.

For example, imagine that your Amazon account was originally opened under ABC Products LLC.

Two years later, you create ABC Brands LLC and begin operating the business through the new company. Your inventory, employees, bank accounts, trademarks, and business expenses may now be associated with ABC Brands LLC, while the Amazon account remains associated with ABC Products LLC.

That mismatch deserves attention.

The BSA requires sellers to provide accurate business information, and Section 18 restricts certain assignments and transfers. The updated language makes it even more important for sellers to understand which entity actually holds the Amazon account and whether rights under that agreement have been transferred elsewhere.

A seller should not assume that changing an LLC, adding an owner, or reorganizing a company automatically violates the BSA. The structure and documentation of the transaction matter. If you are facing a business partner dispute or ownership change, it is worth reviewing how the account is held before the transaction closes.

Why Do Amazon Payments Matter to This Update?

To understand the potential financing impact, sellers should know how the BSA treats the money generated through Amazon sales.

Under the Selling on Amazon Service Terms, Amazon receives Sales Proceeds on behalf of sellers and later remits the seller's available balance.

Section S-5, "Remittance of Sales Proceeds & Refunds," explains how those payments are calculated and distributed.

The BSA's Transaction Processing Service Terms provide additional detail.

Section P-3, "Your Funds," states that a seller's Sales Proceeds held by the applicable Amazon Payments Agent represent an unsecured claim against that Amazon Payments Agent.

In simpler terms, when you make a sale on Amazon, the money does not immediately become cash sitting in your regular business checking account. Amazon's contractual payment system determines when and how those proceeds are remitted to you.

That is why a financing agreement involving the right to receive those payments may raise different questions than an ordinary loan repaid from funds that have already reached your bank account.

Could Violating Section 18 Affect My Amazon Account?

Sellers should take the BSA seriously because it is the contract governing their use of Amazon's services.

Section 3 of the BSA addresses Amazon's ability to suspend or terminate an account or the agreement. Among other circumstances, Amazon may take action when it determines that a seller has materially breached the agreement and has not cured the breach within the applicable period.

That does not mean Amazon will automatically suspend every seller whose financing documents create an issue under the new Section 18.

It does mean that compliance with the BSA can have consequences beyond a private disagreement between a seller and a lender.

For a small business that relies heavily on Amazon revenue, that makes reviewing potentially affected agreements especially important. If your account has already been impacted, our guide to Amazon account suspensions explains the first steps you should take.

What Should Amazon Sellers Do Before August 24?

Amazon sellers should first determine whether this update actually applies to their business.

If you operate a straightforward Amazon business, have never transferred the account, and do not have financing secured by Amazon-related rights or receivables, the update may require little immediate action.

However, sellers should consider reviewing their arrangements if they have borrowed money using Amazon revenue or receivables, entered into revenue-based financing, granted a lender a security interest in marketplace proceeds, sold or purchased an Amazon business, changed the legal entity operating the business, brought in new owners or investors, or transferred economic rights connected to an Amazon account.

If financing is involved, sellers should review the actual financing documents rather than relying solely on how the lender describes the product.

A financing company may market something as an "e-commerce loan," "working capital," or "revenue-based financing." Those labels do not determine whether the arrangement creates an issue under the BSA.

The contract does.

The Bottom Line for Amazon Sellers

Amazon's August 2026 BSA update may look like a small change buried in Section 18, but it could have practical consequences for some sellers.

The simplest way to understand the update is this:

Amazon already restricted your ability to transfer its agreement to someone else. The updated language goes further by restricting certain transfers of the rights and obligations created by that agreement and expressly addressing the use of those rights as collateral.

For many small Amazon businesses, nothing about their day-to-day operations will change.

However, the update deserves closer attention if another person or company has been given rights involving your Amazon account, your Amazon payments, or your contractual relationship with Amazon.

This is particularly relevant if you are borrowing against Amazon revenue, selling your Amazon business, purchasing an Amazon business, changing business entities, or restructuring ownership.

If you are unsure whether an existing financing agreement, business sale, or ownership structure could be affected by Amazon's updated Business Solutions Agreement, Stockman & Poropat, PLLC can review your situation and help you understand how the change may apply to your e-commerce business. Contact our firm to discuss your Amazon seller account, financing arrangements, or business transition.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.