I'm setting up a new AWS account for production IT workloads, but the account creation process is blocked because AWS can't verify my payment method. I'm in the US and have tried two US-issued Ramp cards, including one already used successfully on an existing AWS lab account, plus a personal card to rule out an issue with Ramp. The same "Payment method not valid" message appeared while creating four separate accounts. Both card issuers confirmed they never saw an authorization or charge attempt from Amazon. Has anyone encountered this before, or found a workaround beyond checking the card details and contacting support?
3 Answers
This eventually resolved without changing the cards. AWS support said an internal team made a change on their end, although they couldn’t provide the technical details. The payment method then showed as validated and the account became usable.
If these accounts belong to a company, consider creating them through your organization’s AWS account instead of signing up for separate standalone accounts. Organizations can centrally create and manage member accounts, which may also avoid some onboarding complications.
Make sure the card is an accepted payment method and that the billing address and other details match exactly. If everything checks out and the banks see no authorization attempt, this likely needs to be investigated by AWS Account and Billing Support rather than the card issuer.
I had already checked the card details and confirmed with both issuers that Amazon never attempted an authorization, so support had to investigate it on AWS’s side.