Amazon News Insight

Published July 4, 2026 / EC Designer Editorial

Amazon is bringing passkey authentication to Seller Central, and while it starts as an opt-in feature, the writing is on the wall: for at least some accounts, password-based login will eventually be phased out entirely. If you sell on Amazon, this change is worth understanding now rather than scrambling when it lands on your dashboard.

What the Seller Central Passkey Rollout Actually Means for Your Account

Starting in July 2026, Amazon will gradually enable passkey sign-in across Seller Central accounts. A passkey replaces your traditional password with a cryptographic credential stored on your device — think Face ID, fingerprint recognition, or a PIN tied to your phone or computer. Because the credential never leaves your device and can't be phished in the way a password can, it's genuinely more secure, not just a marketing claim.

The rollout is staged, so not every seller will see the option on day one. But Amazon has signaled that passkeys could become mandatory for certain account types down the line. That's a meaningful detail. Sellers who manage high-volume accounts, use agency or VA access, or operate across multiple marketplaces should pay particular attention, since those setups sometimes involve shared credentials — exactly the kind of practice passkeys are designed to eliminate.

• Phishing resistance: Passkeys can't be stolen through fake login pages, which is one of the most common ways Seller Central accounts get compromised.
• Faster logins: No more fumbling with two-factor authentication codes — your biometric or device PIN handles everything in one step.
• Device dependency: The credential lives on a specific device (or syncs via iCloud/Google Password Manager), so access management across your team will need some thought.

How to Prepare Your Amazon Seller Account Before Passkeys Become Required

The worst time to figure out a new login system is when you're locked out of your account during a Prime Day peak or a critical restock window. Here's how to get ahead of it.

Set up your passkey early, on your terms. When the option appears in your Seller Central account settings, run through the setup while you have time to troubleshoot. The process typically takes under two minutes on a modern smartphone or laptop, but it's worth doing when you're not under pressure.

Audit who has access to your account. If you have team members or virtual assistants logging into your account, passkeys will force you to rethink shared-password arrangements. Amazon's User Permissions feature in Seller Central is the right way to give team members their own login credentials — now is a good time to get that properly configured if you haven't already.

Check your device ecosystem. Passkeys sync across devices through Apple, Google, or Windows account infrastructure, so make sure the devices your team uses are up to date and enrolled in the appropriate account. If you or a VA primarily operates from an older device that doesn't support biometric authentication, that's something to resolve before passkeys become compulsory.

Keep an eye on official announcements. Amazon is rolling this out in stages, and the details — including which account types will be required to switch and on what timeline — will come through Seller Central notifications and the seller forums. Don't rely on third-party summaries alone; bookmark the official announcements and check your Seller Central news feed regularly.

The bottom line: passkeys are a genuine security upgrade, and Amazon pushing them broadly is good news for the seller community, which has long been a target for account takeover schemes. The sellers who'll have a smooth transition are the ones who set up properly now, clean up any informal access-sharing arrangements, and aren't caught off guard when the mandatory deadline eventually arrives.

FAQ

Can I still use a password to log into Seller Central after passkeys roll out?

Initially, yes — passkeys will be optional for most accounts when the feature launches in July 2026. However, Amazon has indicated that passkeys may become mandatory for certain account types at a later date, so it's wise to set one up sooner rather than later.

How do I give my virtual assistant or team members access if passkeys are tied to my device?

You should use Amazon's built-in User Permissions feature in Seller Central to create separate login credentials for each team member. This is the proper approach regardless of passkeys, and passkeys will effectively make shared-password arrangements unworkable — so now is a good time to set up individual permissions for everyone who needs account access.