Your Shopify Payments Account Is On Hold: Reasons And Solutions

Shopify Payments is a popular payment gateway that allows merchants to process transactions directly within Shopify. Offering lower transaction fees than other payment gateways (e.g., PayPal or Stripe), this payment form is trusted by most Shopify merchants, especially those with high sales.

Even though Shopify Payments is the default and merchant-friendly payment gateway, there are cases where your Shopify Payments account is on hold or even terminated. This article will explain why Shopify froze your Shopify Payments account and how to fix this unexpected issue.

Why Is Your Shopify Payments Account On Hold?

Shopify Payments accounts can be paused for various reasons, often related to risk management and compliance with Shopify’s financial policies and regulations. Merchants need to understand why this problem occurs so they can maintain business operations, protect revenue streams, and ensure customer trust.

Some common reasons why your Shopify Payments account is on hold include:

1. Unusual sales patterns: Shopify prevents potential fraudulent sales by suspending accounts that provide unusual or infrequent sales patterns or violate the Acceptable Use Policy by Shopify. High-risk products include firearms, tobacco, adult content, and CBD products.
2. High-risk activity: Shopify may suspend an account if it detects high-risk activity related to your store, such as many chargebacks, disputes, or potentially fraudulent transactions. 
3. Incomplete business verification: If your store hasn’t completed the required business verification, or there are discrepancies in the business information provided, Shopify may suspend your account until it’s completed.
4. Risk of funds loss: If Shopify believes there is a risk of financial loss, such as fraudulent activity or unresolved disputes, it may temporarily hold funds to protect merchants and customers. 
5. Security concerns: Security breaches, hacking attempts, or unauthorized access to a merchant’s Shopify Payments account can result in a hold to protect the account’s security.
6. Multiple accounts: Operating multiple Shopify Payments accounts for the same business or under different identities may lead to a hold. Shopify typically allows only one account per business.
7. Chargeback disputes: A high number of unresolved chargebacks or disputes can trigger an account hold. It’s essential to actively manage and resolve disputes to avoid this issue.
8. Late order fulfillment: Shopify may suspend the Shopify Payments accounts of merchants who repeatedly fail to deliver products to customers on time. That can happen if the seller has poor inventory management or shipping methods.

How To Avoid Payment Account Hold From Shopify

Having your Shopify Payment account suspended can seriously impact your business. This is because you cannot process transactions during that time.

To avoid having your payment account placed on hold by Shopify, it’s important to follow Shopify’s policies and maintain a secure and trustworthy online store. Here are steps you can take to prevent a payment account hold.

Verify Your Store Information

For Shopify, any discrepancy in your information can raise a red flag. So, first of all, ensure that the information you provide, including physical address, phone number, and email address, is completely accurate.

Additionally, Shopify will require you to provide documents verifying your store’s identity, including your business license, tax identification number, and bank statements. Please provide promptly to verify the legitimacy of your store.

Use Legitimate Payment Processing

Next, ensure your Shopify store uses a reputable and legitimate payment processor. Using the payment gateways Shopify recommends is the best way to avoid legal and financial troubles during purchasing. Payment providers at Shopify include:

• Shopify Payments (recommended option as it is integrated with Shopify and designed to work seamlessly)
• Stripe
• Paypal
• Square
• Verifone
• Opayo
• Klarna

Additionally, keeping your payment gateway version up-to-date has a major impact on maintaining the security and reliability of your payment processing system.

Provide Clear Product Descriptions

Your Shopify store will look more reputable if you create high-quality product listings with accurate and detailed descriptions. Shopify Payments’ policies are not suitable for merchants with fraudulent trading intentions. So, conduct your business with transparency and integrity. You need to ensure that your product listing does not contain misleading information or false claims.

Keep your store content up to date, including product listings, prices, and availability. Outdated or inaccurate information that leads to customer dissatisfaction can also cause your Shopify Payments account to be suspended.

Prevent Excessive Chargebacks

In the course of your business, one main culprit for getting your Shopify Payments account suspended is chargebacks. Therefore, you need to take measures to prevent excessive chargebacks, such as clearly stating your refund and returns policy. 

Provide excellent customer service to clearly communicate with customers about shipping times, delivery expectations, and product availability. Transparency will help you reduce the possibility of disputes.

Use Anti-Cheat Tools

Maintain strong security measures for your Shopify store to prevent unauthorized access and potential fraud. Besides using secure passwords and enabling two-factor authentication, you can seek the help of anti-fraud technologies, such as AVS (Address Verification Service) or CVV (Card Verification Value).

Additionally, you need to regularly check your store’s transactions and watch for any unusual or suspicious customer activity. These solutions can help you prevent fraudulent transactions and avoid legal problems. This ensures your payment gateway is always working properly and prevents your Shopify Payments account from being suspended.

Comply With Shopify Policies

Last but not least, you need to be familiar with and strictly comply with Shopify Payments’ terms of service. Ensure that your business operations and products comply with all laws and policy regulations.

Stay up to date on changes to Shopify policies, industry best practices, and emerging security threats. Continuous learning and adaptation are important to avoid having your Shopify Payments account put on hold. 

How To Reactivate A Suspended Shopify Payments Account

If your Shopify Payments account is on hold, you’ll need to work with Shopify’s support team to resolve the issue and request reactivation. The specific requirements for reactivating a suspended Shopify Payments account may vary, depending on the reason for your violation. An outline of the procedures to reactivate a Shopify Payments account that has been suspended is provided below.

Review The Suspension Email

First, you must carefully review any email or notification from Shopify about suspending your Shopify Payments account. This is meant to clarify why your payment account was suspended and what you need to do to reactivate it. Please carefully review the following information:

• Reason for payment account suspension
• Adjustment time
• Corrective action
• Communications

You can complain to Shopify if you think your Shopify Payments account was suspended unfairly or after you’ve taken appropriate measures. Care must be taken during the appeals process, and any required papers or proof must be presented clearly and understandably.

Contact Shopify Support

Once you have captured the necessary information, contact Shopify support through the Shopify admin panel for timely resolution. Here, the support staff will answer your questions and provide appropriate troubleshooting methods for you to follow.

Address The Issue

Depending on the reason for the pause, you’ll need to take appropriate actions to resolve it. For example:

• If the pause is due to high-risk activity or a chargeback, take measures to reduce chargebacks and improve the security of your store.
• If it’s a compliance issue, ensure your business and product listings comply with Shopify’s policies.
• For identity verification requests, provide requested documents quickly and accurately.

As a result, you must get ready for whatever paperwork or data Shopify needs to fix the problem. Examples are business licenses, tax IDs, bank statements, and other proof documents. Throughout the resolution process, keep in touch with Shopify’s support staff frequently to offer any additional information that may be required.

Wait For Confirmation

It can take some time for Shopify to respond, depending on the intricacy of the situation and the reason your account was suspended. However, if the response takes longer than expected, you should contact Shopify Support to monitor the situation and deal with any problems as soon as they appear.

After resolving the problem, Shopify might need to confirm your modifications or enhancements. Therefore, you must be ready to provide evidence that your store is now secure and compliant. If Shopify finds that the problem has been fixed and your store complies with its rules, it will swiftly reactivate your Shopify Payments account.

Conclusion

In general, having your Shopify Payments account on hold can negatively impact your Shopify business. This may result in your store losing credibility or in the permanent locking of your payment account.

To avoid this issue in the future, adhere strictly to Shopify’s standards and best practices for online businesses while also closely monitoring transactions, customer interactions, and other shop activities.

If your Shopify Payments account is on hold, it’s critical that you cooperate with Shopify’s support team and promptly supply any required information and documentation to hasten the resolution process. Hopefully, this article has given you useful guidance to help you deal with this unforeseen issue.