If you’re a Brit you’ll probably know that Amazon are going to stop accepting UK Visa cards on January 19. Not clear yet whether this is just game playing, but I don’t use Amazon much, so I’m not inclined to make a change.
My question is, will my Alexas still work with HA with no registered payment method? Has anyone tried this?
I only use them for voice commands, connected via Nabu Casa and the Home Assistant skill.
I’m not sure what the payment method has to do with linking to home assistant. As long as nabucasa is paid for, I would assume it should work fine.
So would I. However the Amazon terms and conditions leave them a lot of leeway:
You may need your own Amazon account to use certain Amazon Services, and you may be required to be logged into the account and have a valid payment method associated with it.
From their point of view Alexa is only a marketing tool. Why would they let you use it if you’re not going to buy anything?
If this is your question, maybe you should ask on an amazon forum then. In regards to HA, I can tell you that “No it does not require an amazon card attached to your account”.
If you are trying to access services offered by Amazon Prime (Prime Music, Prime Video) yes. If you just want to talk to Alexa, no.
If you need to create your own AWS lambda function, you definitely need a valid payment method, so amazon can charge you in case you go beyond free tier. If you are using nabucasa and not needed to create an aws lambda, no need for a payment method.
This can also be used to commit fraud. I had a drone delivered to a state where I do not reside. The order failed and was archived completely out of sight. However, further investigation revealed that they had added a credit card and the new shipping address to my account. That card would presumably fail, and they hoped my card would be charged. There is a way to disable this “feature,” and I recommend that everyone do so. Disable backup recurring payment methods in your Wallet.
Hey there! I’m also from the UK and heard about Amazon stopping the acceptance of Visa cards. To be honest, I’m not too bothered about it either since I don’t use Amazon all that often. As for your question about Alexa and HA, I’m not entirely sure. However, I do know that Alexa does need a payment method to be registered to make purchases. But since you’re only using it for voice commands, it might still work without a registered payment method.
UPDATE 17 February 2022: Amazon And Visa Reach Credit Card Agreement. Amazon and Visa have reached an agreement that will allow Visa credit card holders to shop on Amazon.