Payouts stuck in "pending" with no help from support. Any solutions out there ?

[Pixel_OZ]

Hey there,

We need some help from anyone who has experience with Shopify Payments in France. We recently opened a new shop with Shopify and decided to use Shopify Payments as recommended by the platform. Although we usually use third-party payment solutions and have been happy with the results, we thought we'd try Shopify Payments for our French website since it worked well for our Australian site.

During the first four days of business, we generated 8k in sales. However, our payouts are stuck in "pending" status, even though we were given estimated payout dates. This is a new issue for us since we haven't encountered it before in Australia. Has anyone else had this problem?

Unfortunately, Shopify's frontline support hasn't been helpful in resolving the issue, and we've been directed to contact their finance team. We've noticed that the frontline support team tends to suggest marketing strategies or free shipping instead of addressing our question directly, which can be frustrating. We're still waiting for a response from the finance team since it's been 48 hours since the case was escalated.

We've heard of others having similar issues, but we haven't found a solution yet. Once we find a resolution, we'll be sure to share it here.

Thanks for your help,
Will

[Pixel_OZ]

UPDATE #1

I have received information regarding the Finance Team after a 3-day period of no communication. They have requested additional documentation about the directors and the company, including a signed Shopify document, a copy of ID, and a personal tax document with an address. However, they have not provided any explanation as to why these documents are necessary now that the payment solution is already activated.

We have sent the requested documents at 7:30 pm today, and I will keep you informed about how long it takes them to validate and release the funds.

[Andrew]

Hi @Pixel_OZ, 

I'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time getting your payouts, and of course, I'm sorry that you feel your experience with our Support has been less than optimal.

Our front-line staff is limited in the information they can give you as it is an escalated team (the Finance team) that handles Shopify Payments and payouts. Our Support team, wanting to be helpful, can simply escalate the issue and then check in with you about other ways to help your business.

I appreciate that waiting 72 hours for a response is not what you want, especially when you've generated such great sales and of course, want to get your funds as soon as possible. I'm pleased to hear that you've since heard from the appropriate team. 

For context: in response to regulations in different countries, you're required to provide information about you and your business. The information is collected to help identify merchants using Shopify Payments, including the beneficial owners of a particular corporate entity. The purpose of collecting this information is to comply with regulatory requirements designed to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. 

So Shopify is simply performing its diligence in verifying before paying out large sums of money.

Once those payouts are released, you'll no doubt know that in France, the pay period is 3 calendar days https://bit.ly/3ytmD6H. If the payout falls on a weekend or holiday, then the funds won't be accessible until after the weekend or holiday.

Given the limitations of my role, I'd like to offer help in any other way that I can with your store while the finance team handles that, so please know that I'm here if you'd like to ask me anything else!

[Pixel_OZ]

UPDATE #2

Shopify finally validated our account at 4:53am Brisbane time, which was 8 hours later. I'm not complaining about the timing, but my contact informed us that it would take 5-7 days to receive the payout. I reminded them that this means they would hold our funds for more than 10 days, which is unacceptable.

Fortunately, they released the funds the day after.

To summarise the timeline for those in a similar situation:

• It takes 3 days to raise your case with the Finance Team and be heard.
• It takes 24 hours to validate the documentation.
• It takes another 24 hours to receive the payout if you insist.

This adds up to 5 business days.

I wish the best to people in the same situation who come across this thread while trying to figure out what's happening with their payout. It can be frustrating to deal with support while Shopify profits from holding onto your money.

I appreciate the response from the Shopify Support Agent, but this thread is not about them saving their image. It's about future users in the same situation trying to understand what's happening. I appreciate their attempt to justify themselves using legislation, but I have one question: why do they authorise payment with their solution if the account does not meet their requirements when a shop is open? End of discussion. They can try to justify themselves, but they are in the wrong.