Is It Safe to Store Your Credit Card Info on Amazon?

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You may want to think twice before doing so. 

Amazon is an extremely popular way to shop — in fact, Zippia research found that in 2021, Amazon accounted for 56.7% of all e-commerce sales in the U.S. That represented a net sales revenue of $469.82 billion. With numbers like this, it’s a fair bet that many Amazon shoppers make heavy use of Amazon’s “Buy Now” button. But using this feature means leaving your credit card saved on file in your Amazon account. Is this a good idea? Let’s take a look at how you might spend more than you intend to — or even fall victim to scammers.

Credit cards are a very safe form of payment

First things first: Credit cards themselves are generally the most secure way to pay for purchases, especially on the internet. Most notably, when you pay with a credit card, your own money in your bank account is not connected. Instead, you’re using money borrowed from your credit card issuer via your line of credit, and then paying it back.

The best credit cards for online shopping add another layer of safety in the form of liability protection if someone uses your credit card to make unauthorized charges. If your card or its information is stolen, you will still have to take action to report the theft to your card issuer, but you will generally not be liable for any fraudulent charges made. Debit cards don’t offer this level of protection, so it’s generally better to opt for using a credit card when you’re shopping online. Unfortunately, there are still some risks to keeping your credit card info stored on websites like Amazon.

Risks of storing your credit card info on websites

Scammers and hackers are always innovating new ways to steal our financial data. While storing your card info on an e-commerce website makes it very easy for you to use, should that site suffer a security breach, your credit card info will also be available for scammers. While this sort of issue might seem unlikely with a big company like Amazon, it’s been known to happen. For example, almost a decade ago, Target was compromised in a cyber attack that affected 41 million customers.

Other threats to your credit card are closer to home. We’ve all heard the funny viral stories on social media about how someone’s young child ordered several thousand dollars’ worth of items via an Amazon Alexa device or their parent’s Amazon app. If you don’t have credit card info stored on Amazon, those orders won’t be fulfilled.

You might also want to build in some roadblocks for your own shopping habits if they tend to get you into trouble. Amazon has become many people’s go-to for everyday purchases, but it sure is easy to order things you don’t need and get a shock when you peek at your credit card statement. It might be a hassle to go find your wallet every time you want to restock your supply of paper towels, but it could save you from an impulse order of $20 worth of nonsense. Those silly orders can add up, after all.

Safety tips for online shopping

There are a few things you can do to help ensure your credit card info is safe when you use it for online shopping. Consider the following:

Don’t shop on public wifi: Public wifi is, by definition, open to the public, and it’s an easy target for hackers. Do your shopping at home on your own private (and password-protected) wifi network.Use strong passwords (and change them regularly): Even if Amazon itself doesn’t fall victim to a security breach, your own account could be compromised if someone manages to get hold of your password.Rely on virtual card numbers: Some credit cards generate a virtual credit card number for use online. This keeps your real credit card information safe.

With all this in mind, you may want to delete your credit card info off Amazon. While it will be less convenient to shop if you have to track down your credit card every time you make a purchase, it is likely the safest choice.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com and Target. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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