Global Expansion with AWS Marketplace

• Since your business entity, not AWS Marketplace, is the seller of record for your transactions, best practice is to set up multiple AWS Marketplace seller accounts to effectively match your global business structure.
• The number of seller accounts you create will depend on the scope of your business. Some sellers prefer a single global account for simplicity, while others choose to register multiple seller accounts based on the countries or regions they operate in.
• If you decide to use different business entities to sell in different countries or require different disbursement bank accounts for different products, you can create multiple AWS accounts and register them as individual seller accounts. For example, a seller may no longer want to use their US business entity to sell to buyers in the European Union (EU) and instead want to use their EU business entity.
• AWS supports over 40 countries for seller account registrations and refers to these approved countries as “eligible jurisdictions” in the AWS Marketplace Seller Guide. Always refer to this Guide for the most up-to-date eligible jurisdictions. 
• If you reside outside of an eligible jurisdiction, you can engage with third-party companies that provide AWS Marketplace management and business entity registration services. 
• To register as a seller on AWS Marketplace, you need an AWS account that will be used to publish and manage your products. You can either use an existing AWS Account or create a new one specifically for your AWS Marketplace business. 
• We typically recommend creating a dedicated AWS account to keep your AWS Marketplace activities separate from your other AWS accounts, which can be helpful when you start receiving disbursements (payments for product sales) and require reporting access. For this account, you should use a generic inbox (aws-marketplace@yourcompany.com) that can be accessed by the appropriate contacts who manage AWS Marketplace operations and transactions. 
• The number of seller accounts you create depends on the scope of your business. Some sellers prefer a single global account for simplicity, while others may want to register multiple seller accounts based on the countries and regions they operate in.
  

• Carefully manage access to your AWS Marketplace seller account over time, including passwords, permissions, and email aliases. This will help prevent you from getting locked out of the account if someone leaves your company.
• Visit the AWS Marketplace Seller Guide for information on how to successfully register as a seller in AWS Marketplace.
• Create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that outlines what roles/personas within your organization require visibility and access to marketplace transactions. For example, finance and sales teams often need view-only permissions instead of administrative access.
• If you leverage a third-party tool to list and manage your offerings in AWS Marketplace, consult with them as well when setting up your seller account and publishing processes.

• To confirm which MPO was used for specific transactions, refer to the Billed Revenue Dashboard in your AWS Marketplace seller console. To access dashboards, ensure you have the right permissions.

• Local MPOs may be a strong preference or even a requirement for some buyers, particularly in sensitive industry segments such as Public Sector, Financial Services, or Insurance. Catering to these localization needs can make your offerings more attractive and accessible to key customer groups in certain countries.
• Check out details on the different AWS Marketplace Operators in the "Sales on AWS Marketplace" section of the Tax Help Guide. 

• If KYC is required in a country or region you want to sell in, sellers are still able to sell in these markets through the US-based Marketplace Operator, forfeiting localized benefits. It is your responsibility to determine your tax and compliance liability.
• It is important to note that sellers who do not complete the KYC process for AWS Korea are unable to receive disbursements for sales to buyers in Korea. You will still be able to sell, however disbursements will be held by a third-party payment processer, Korea Cyber Payments (KCP), which is mandated by Korean law. Once KYC is completed, AWS Payments will send an update to the payment processor and disbursement will be processed.
• If you choose to not to complete the KYC process to sell through the local Marketplace Operator, another option is to partner with an approved AWS Distributor who can act as the Designated Seller-of-Record, who has completed the KYC process. Note: This option is not available in Korea.

• Since KYC is an identity verification process, personal information from your company’s beneficial owner(s) is required by Amazon Compliance to verify the information. While this information is not shared outside of Amazon Compliance, some sellers may find this requirement challenging. We recommend aligning with your legal team before starting the KYC process.
• Sellers should assign a point of contact responsible for completing the KYC process. It is recommended to use Amazon EventBridge notifications to ensure your POC receives updates on the KYC process.  
• This is not an overnight process. Successful completion of the KYC verification process can take approximately 2-3 months. 
  
• Check out AWS Marketplace KYC details to get started. 

• AWS Marketplace manages sales tax collection and remittance in certain locations, but in others, the AWS Marketplace seller is responsible. It is crucial for sellers review AWS Marketplace Tax Help resources to understand their specific tax obligations based on their product offerings and target markets.
  

• The tax information you provide in your Seller Tax Settings within the AWS Marketplace Management Portal is used by AWS to calculate applicable taxes. Ensure this data, including your seller entity details, remains accurate and up-to-date. It must match the seller entity information you submitted when you registered your AWS Marketplace seller account. If there are any changes or discrepancies, you must re-complete the tax interview in the AWS Marketplace Management Portal.
  

• Review the AWS Marketplace tax seller guide and APN video for details on global tax handling considerations.
• While it is the seller's responsibility to proactively understand tax obligations when selling on AWS Marketplace, AWS Marketplace provides a tax dashboard to help sellers retroactively report tax. This includes situations where AWS was the legally liable party and charged/remitted tax, as well as cases where AWS charged tax on the seller's behalf for the seller to remit to the local authority. We recommend regularly reviewing this report to stay informed about your tax obligations.
  

AWS Marketplace Tax Help 

• By default, AWS Marketplace products are available globally, but sellers can choose to restrict access to specific countries. This may be necessary if you lack language support, tax capabilities, or other operational readiness in certain regions. Geo-fencing allows you to control which customers can view and purchase your product listings.

• When a buyer attempts to access your product, AWS checks their tax location against your defined geo-fencing rules. If the buyer's location is outside your allowed countries, they will be prevented from viewing or subscribing to your offer. This ensures you only enable purchasing access for the specific markets you've operationally prepared for.

Geo-fencing controls

• The payer account location of the AWS account used to accept the offer will determine their location. For example, if an AWS account set up in Germany rolls up to a parent AWS account in the United States, it will be a United States buyer location.

• Geo-fencing can only be activated for Public Offers. Since Private Offers and Channel Private Offers are managed directly by Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), it is the responsibility of the seller to confirm the buyer’s location before sharing the offer link. You can do this by asking the buyer to confirm their AWS account that is used to accept the offer is tied to the specific country.

• When considering Geo-fencing, consult your tax and sales ops teams to ensure they are able to support software sales in the regions you set up.

• Review the details on how to set up geo-fencing controls for AWS Marketplace. 

• AWS Marketplace provides the ability to buyers to pay invoices  in preferred local currencies. However, buyers have faced FX risk when purchasing multi-year contracts due to fluctuations between transacting a private offer and receiving invoices as FX is determined at receipt of invoice. 
• Sellers can now create private offers in four non-USD currencies (EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD) and receive disbursements in the same currency. Note: Public offer pricing is in USD only. 
• Buyers are invoiced in the seller-selected currency for the full contract duration, eliminating FX variability. 

• This functionality is available worldwide for all AWS Marketplace sellers for all private offers. Public offers remain in USD only.
• For Channel Partner Private Offers (CPPO), the seller, channel partner, and buyer must all transact in the same currency. Sellers need to issue a resale authorization in the negotiated currency, and the channel partner then creates the CPPO in that currency. 
  

• Work closely with your finance team to understand if local currency disbursement aligns with your localization strategy. Some sellers may prefer to receive their AWS Marketplace payouts in US dollars, consistent with their overall disbursement preferences. 
• Learn more on how to transact in local currencies and receive local disbursements. 
  

• AWS Marketplace sellers are able to use local bank accounts in eligible jurisdictions to receive disbursements in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and AUD. 
• Sellers are not required to use a US bank account or Hyperwallet to complete AWS Marketplace seller registration unless you are in the UK. 
• Flexible bank account setup- use one account for multiple currencies or maintain separate accounts per currency. 

• UK bank account can only receive disbursements in EUR or GBP from AWS EMEA sales. To use an UK-based bank account, the seller must complete KYC and onboard onto AWS EMEA.
• Sellers using a UK bank account will still need a separate non-UK bank account to continue receiving USD disbursements.

• Enabling local bank accounts expands disbursement options for AWS Marketplace sellers, allowing you to receive payments in your preferred local currency rather than being limited to USD.