Overview

Amazon has upgraded the Selling Partner Finances API to include tracking for Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments. The new capability, released in early 2024, adds a dedicated event type that lets sellers see both the reimbursement they receive from Amazon and the refund they must issue to the customer’s EBT card. This visibility is crucial for merchants who sell groceries or other eligible items to SNAP beneficiaries, because federal rules require a two‑step refund process.

Key Points

• New EBTReimbursementEvent object — A specific financial‑event schema now appears in API responses, detailing the amount Amazon reimburses to the seller and the subsequent refund to the buyer’s EBT card.
• Three endpoints refreshed — listFinancialEvents, listFinancialEventsByGroupId, and listFinancialEventsByOrderId all return the new EBT event data, enabling bulk, batch‑level, and order‑specific reconciliation.
• Two‑stage refund exposure — Sellers can programmatically monitor the initial Amazon reimbursement and the follow‑up customer refund, a requirement that was previously only visible in manual reports.
• U.S. marketplace limitation — The feature is currently limited to Amazon.com, where EBT acceptance is permitted for qualified sellers.
• Compliance boost — By delivering an auditable trail, the API helps merchants meet federal nutrition‑assistance record‑keeping obligations without extra manual effort.

How EBT Refund Tracking Works

1. Amazon reimburses the seller — After an EBT purchase is completed, Amazon credits the seller’s account for the transaction amount. For example, a seller who sold a $45 grocery item receives a $45 reimbursement entry in the API under the EBTReimbursementEvent.
2. Seller refunds the customer’s card — Federal guidelines require the merchant to return the funds directly to the buyer’s EBT card. The same EBTReimbursementEvent includes a second line item that records the seller‑initiated refund, such as a $45 debit against the seller’s balance.