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> There is a technical term for it.

It's typically called the "float". Applies any time you receive a payment but take a while to pass it on.

Most payment companies aren't able to (due to regulations) do anything particularly high-yield with funds they steward for their merchants. The amount of float a company like Amazon is able to make may factor into their revenue model, but I imagine they hold on to funds more for regulatory and risk mitigation reasons.

MG Siegler and John Gruber engage in some fascinating speculation about how Amazon uses their float here: http://www.muleradio.net/thetalkshow/51/

... which was inspired, in part, by Eugene Wei's thoughts on how Amazon's float gives them leverage: http://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2012/11/28/amazon-and-margins

thanks for the links. I can't speculate at what their requirements are for affiliate payments. I only know the requirements Balanced is placed under as a PSP. I imagine Amazon must follow similar guidelines.

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