URGENT Help Needed! Shopify Payments Holding Payouts for Weeks!

[CampanulaDesign]

Without warning or a request for any documentation my Shopify payments were put on hold for non-compliance literally the DAY BEFORE Black Friday. I sell wine in gift baskets. I'm licensed to sell wine in gift baskets. I've been doing so for four years. I immediately submitted all required documentation. Since then - crickets. I've sent multiple emails asking for more information and either get a generic "we've reached out to our banking partner/thanks for your patience" or no answer whatsoever. You cannot contact Trust & Safety via phone. You can only chat with a rep. Those reps cannot directly connect you to Trust & Safety. There is absolutely no avenue that I have found to contact them to resolve this in a timely fashion. Meanwhile, I have been without payouts for two weeks and am at the point where I cannot meet financial obligations while Shopify sits around doing nothing/holding my money. Especially punitive during the holidays! I'm certain that the "banking partner" isn't going to pay me the interest they earned by holding my money unjustifiably for this length of time. 

I have no answers on what the process is. No answers on what happens if they decide to terminate my merchant services account. No answers on how long my payouts will be held. No answers as to whether I should switch to an alternate payment provider while this is resolved (which I asked almost immediately). 

Has anyone else experienced this? Did you have any luck contacting them? If so, how? I am sick of the generic "Thanks for your patience/we take this seriously" responses when they've left their front line agents powerless to help. Any advice for workarounds? Obviously during the holidays I'm not in a position to change my Platform to another provider. PayPal is problematic because I collect custom information in my checkout/deliveries go to a different person than the purchaser (I'm primarily a florist). 

So incredibly frustrated and am in real danger here of damaging relationships if I cannot meet financial obligations due to this. Please help!!!

[SheriScraps]

I am in the same boat and no one seems to care. This business is what feeds my family. I've contacted support everyday and it's the same blah, blah, blah. Today I contacted the BBB and filed a complaint. I also filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office in my state. I will get an answer one way or the other.

[CampanulaDesign]

How long has this been going on for you? I want to know how long they will take - how long they are messing with people's livelihoods without answers. 

[SheriScraps]

I received my email on 11/30 at which time they also stopped my payouts.  I immediately replied to the email with the invoices (per their request). On 12/5 they shutdown my website. Today it is still shutdown. I have not been able to get a hold of anyone at Shopify so I'm trying alternative methods.  BTW, I am considering a class action lawsuit. In my opinion, this is completely unacceptable. If they do not have the staff to review the documentation in a reasonable amount of time, they should not be shutting down websites or holding our payouts.

I'm sorry to hear you're in the same boat as me. Keep me updated if you get a resolution and I will do the same.

[CampanulaDesign]

Thanks for the info. Weirdly I suddenly have a “failed” payout attempt with a notice that my payouts are on hold until I resolve the (non) issue with my bank. My last payout was November 23rd. They have not shut down my site fortunately but this “failed” payout is super weird. And also not for the whole amount - only the next one in line. 

[Andrew7kft]

Has this been resolved yet?

[CampanulaDesign]

Yes, for me it has been. Once someone in Trust & Safety started actually working with me and on it I had resolution in two days. Payouts were held from November 23rd until I finally started receiving them again this week on December 11th. 

[Andrew7kft]

Many thanks for your response. As a small business owner I'm excited to hear that you got your payouts. There aren't many users claiming they had their payouts reopened with a couple weeks.

I wondering if I could give you my background and ask a couple questions?  My shop is an official and authorized retailer of running shoes, apparel, gear and nutrition. I will gross about $700,000 in 2023 using Shopify POS and Shopify Online sales.

I received an email from [email protected] on 12/14/23 that payouts were on hold due to having branded products on my site. I have authorization from all brands and sent the maximum of 5 invoices on the link provided in their email.

I then responded to the original email with over 100 invoices from brands I sell.

What's interesting is that when I hit reply to the email in gmail the email address I responded to was [email protected] instead of [email protected]

I'm curious to know if you had responded to either of those emails or if it was different?

I received an email response the next day on 12/15/23 from [email protected] that the information had been sent to their banking partners for review. Was this something you received?

With that said it appears that you received notification of 11/24/23 and from that date until sometime after 12/6/23 you heard nothing from them?

After risk management began speaking to you what happened in those conversations? Did you provide additional documentation?

I realize this is a lot to ask but I believe if business owners like you and I can provide others with a more efficient pathway for success there will be less negative impacts. 

[SheriScraps]

How ironic that once the complaints were filed with the AG and BBB yesterday, my website was turned back online last night. I don't want to be the squeaky wheel, but if that's the only way to get some grease, then so be it. Merry Christmas...seems like we're both back in business. 

[jasonhd]

Hello - I am interested in joining this class action. Shopify has held payments which includes sales tax withheld from payments. We have the obligation to remit these sales tax payments collected by Shopify. 

It has been three weeks since payments have been put on hold. There was a request for documents, which I submitted, and then I was informed that the issue was escalated to the wrong team. 

[theUGC]

I was told that the review of my account was complete and that the hold on my account was being removed. 24-48 hours. That was 4 days ago and obviously yet again, no change. Account still on hold and np payouts scheduled.

Now 6 weeks since my last payout.

I completed the P2B complaints procedure which Shopify provide on their own site; Unsurprisingly I got a standard response and don’t believe it is actually linked to the regulator at all. So am going to go directly to the P2B. Here is the link

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/platform-business-trading-practices



[HUNTEDFOX]

This is called "money floating"  and yes, it's very illegal.  Shopify uses our funds for their purposes (like a bank- but they are NOT a bank, and they do not have the rights to do so).  The longer they have it- the more they can do with it.  *as if YOU don't need your own money for the same reasons.*. Equally-they are still bound by the law.  Here is is the post that has been deleted over 72 times today:

We are having the SAME PROBLEM:  We built YOUR business, Shopify.  WHY are you destroying OURS?

After opening our second store, we verified everything and were approved for Shopify Payments. After several transactions, I signed in to find that my payout of over 6k was on hold and I had to contact Shopify, which as we all know has migrated to a "chat bot".  This raises a RED FLAG. Why am I being asked to chase down a problem that I was never alerted to?  I'm told they will "email me".  2 days later without any response from Shopify, monies were still on hold, I'm getting frustrated.

Aren't there laws surrounding the handling of monies? 

YUP, there are- on both sides of the coin.   
In this case: Shopify is the Payment Processor- while WE are the Consumer. 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
US Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E
EFTA: The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S. Code § 1693 et seq.) establishes the rights and liabilities of consumers and the responsibilities of all participants in electronic fund transfer systems.

• Regulation E: Implements the EFTA and includes requirements for:
• Disclosure of Terms and Conditions: Payment processors must clearly disclose the terms and conditions under which funds may be withheld.
• Error Resolution: Procedures must be in place to resolve errors promptly, including those related to withheld funds.
• Unauthorized Transactions: Handling and reporting unauthorized transactions and notifying the consumer promptly.

1. Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP)

• Enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), UDAAP prohibits financial service providers from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. Withholding funds without proper cause or clear communication can be considered a violation

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After finally getting a response, Shopify asked me to verify the same documents I had previously provided to open the account. This seems negligent, especially now that they have $6,300 of our funds. I provided the documents again, and Shopify confirmed the account was in "good standing" and payments would be processed.  Yet, 15 minutes later, they sent another notification putting the account on hold again,  blocking incoming payments as well as the payout.  

For three days, I've been emailing Shopify “Customer Support” to find out what is needed now to resolve this issue. NO one can give me an answer.  They have "escalated my request" yet cannot seem to get tot he bottom of it and deliver a direct response towards a resolution.  Despite all of my emails and requests, I still receive the same false and inconclusive emails from Shopify:

"Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out. I understand the urgency of the hold on your payments. Two escalated tickets (Ticket #47680900 and Ticket #47610956) are actively addressing your concerns. Our specialized teams are working diligently on your case and will update you as soon as they have information."

This situation is debilitating and unreasonable. Shopify's actions are unlawful and unethical. They cannot withhold our money without providing any response or actionable steps within a reasonable time frame. They are using our cash for their business needs, while harming ours. 

Our money has been withheld.  Just like yours  Shopify REFUSES to deliver a response- of any kind towards clarity or a resolution (EFTA15 U.S. Code § 1693 et seq.E).  Furthermore, they "resolved" the matter  in my case and subsequently reversed it within minutes unceremoniously.  This is fraud.  This is deceptive.  This is unjust.  

After 8+ years with Shopify - what used to be excellent customer service has now become an absolute nightmare of seeming incompetence- or is it purposeful because they know we are small?  Are we?

I'd happily start a class action suit, as I am clearly not the only one affected.

Shopify is BREAKING THE LAW.
Shopify's actions are Unfair, Deceptive, & Abusive

This is absolutely unacceptable.   

We deserve better. 

If a payment processor is participating in Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP), there are several steps you can take to seek recourse:

The only solution OUTSIDE of legal action :  *This is what my attorney and I will be doing for the rest of the day.*

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
     
     
2. State Attorney General's Office
   • Find Your State Attorney General: https://www.naag.org/find-my-ag/
     
     
3. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
     
     
4. Better Business Bureau (BBB)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started
     
     
5. Online Consumer Review Platforms
   • Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/writeareview
   • Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.your-website.com
   • Ripoff Report: https://www.ripoffreport.com/FileReport

6. Financial Regulatory Authorities

• Federal Reserve Consumer Help: https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/Form/ComplaintForm
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): https://www.helpwithmybank.gov/complaints/index-file-a-bank-complaint.html
• State Consumer Protection Offices: https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer

Summary

If you believe a payment processor is engaging in UDAAP, you have several avenues for recourse, including internal complaint resolution, external complaint resolution with regulatory bodies, legal action, and public recourse through online platforms. Taking these steps can help you seek resolution and hold the payment processor accountable for their practices.

[chloejong]

Did this get resolved? 

[minimalist3312]

i am currently reaching out to lawyers about my store.  Reach out to me .  They are holding 6 figures on my account and I am not happy about it.

[WorthHome]

HI !! Please reach out to me as we are getting to a very big amount on hold as well. [email protected] - Co-Founder of Worth Home Products

[angelam78]

hi do you mind if I ask if this only happens when you are using Shop payments? I currently have Stripe, but am unable to sell on social media or tag products unless I switch to shop pay. but after reading this, it seems like a nightmare!

[WorthHome]

OMG!! I can't believe this. Do you have your funds now?

[HUNTEDFOX]

@minimalist3312 @CampanulaDesign @Jlynn0879 @WorthHome @Big-Dawg 

This is called "money floating"  and yes, it's very illegal.  Shopify uses our funds for their purposes (like a bank- but they are NOT a bank, and they do not have the rights to do so).  The longer they have it- the more they can do with it.  *as if YOU don't need your own money for the same reasons.*. Equally-they are still bound by the law. 

Here is is the post that has been deleted over 72 times today:

We are having the SAME PROBLEM:  We built YOUR business, Shopify.  WHY are you destroying OURS?

After opening our second store, we verified everything and were approved for Shopify Payments. After several transactions, I signed in to find that my payout of over 6k was on hold and I had to contact Shopify, which as we all know has migrated to a "chat bot".  This raises a RED FLAG. Why am I being asked to chase down a problem that I was never alerted to?  I'm told they will "email me".  2 days later without any response from Shopify, monies were still on hold, I'm getting frustrated.

Aren't there laws surrounding the handling of monies? 

YUP, there are- on both sides of the coin.   
In this case: Shopify is the Payment Processor- while WE are the Consumer. 
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
US Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E
EFTA: The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S. Code § 1693 et seq.) establishes the rights and liabilities of consumers and the responsibilities of all participants in electronic fund transfer systems.

• Regulation E: Implements the EFTA and includes requirements for:
• Disclosure of Terms and Conditions: Payment processors must clearly disclose the terms and conditions under which funds may be withheld.
• Error Resolution: Procedures must be in place to resolve errors promptly, including those related to withheld funds.
• Unauthorized Transactions: Handling and reporting unauthorized transactions and notifying the consumer promptly.

1. Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP)

• Enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), UDAAP prohibits financial service providers from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. Withholding funds without proper cause or clear communication can be considered a violation

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After finally getting a response, Shopify asked me to verify the same documents I had previously provided to open the account. This seems negligent, especially now that they have $6,300 of our funds. I provided the documents again, and Shopify confirmed the account was in "good standing" and payments would be processed.  Yet, 15 minutes later, they sent another notification putting the account on hold again,  blocking incoming payments as well as the payout.  

For three days, I've been emailing Shopify “Customer Support” to find out what is needed now to resolve this issue. NO one can give me an answer.  They have "escalated my request" yet cannot seem to get tot he bottom of it and deliver a direct response towards a resolution.  Despite all of my emails and requests, I still receive the same false and inconclusive emails from Shopify:

"Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out. I understand the urgency of the hold on your payments. Two escalated tickets (Ticket #47680900 and Ticket #47610956) are actively addressing your concerns. Our specialized teams are working diligently on your case and will update you as soon as they have information."

This situation is debilitating and unreasonable. Shopify's actions are unlawful and unethical. They cannot withhold our money without providing any response or actionable steps within a reasonable time frame. They are using our cash for their business needs, while harming ours. 

Our money has been withheld.  Just like yours , Shopify REFUSES to deliver a response- of any kind towards clarity or a resolution (EFTA15 U.S. Code § 1693 et seq.E).  Furthermore, they "resolved" the matter  in my case and subsequently reversed it within minutes unceremoniously.  This is fraud.  This is deceptive.  This is unjust.  

After 8+ years with Shopify - what used to be excellent customer service has now become an absolute nightmare of seeming incompetence- or is it purposeful because they know we are small?  Are we?

I'd happily start a class action suit, as I am clearly not the only one affected.

Shopify is BREAKING THE LAW.
Shopify's actions are Unfair, Deceptive, & Abusive

This is absolutely unacceptable.   

We deserve better. 

As per my attorney:

If a payment processor is participating in Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP), there are several steps you can take to seek recourse: If you believe a payment processor is engaging in UDAAP, you have several avenues for recourse. Taking these steps can help you seek resolution and hold the payment processor accountable for their practices before pursuing a legal format. 

I will be spending my entire Saturday doing the following & rallying for a class action on Monday. 

SENDING A FORMAL LEGAL FILING TO SHOPIFY:
 [email protected]

Shopify Legal Department

150 Elgin Street, 8th Floor
Ottawa,

Ontario, K2P 1L4
Canada

The only solution OUTSIDE of legal action :  *This is what my attorney and I will be doing for the rest of the day.*

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
     
     
2. State Attorney General's Office
   • Find Your State Attorney General: https://www.naag.org/find-my-ag/
     
     
3. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
     
     
4. Better Business Bureau (BBB)
   • Submit a Complaint: https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started
     
     
5. Online Consumer Review Platforms
   • Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/writeareview
   • Trustpilot: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.your-website.com
   • Ripoff Report: https://www.ripoffreport.com/FileReport

6. Financial Regulatory Authorities

• Federal Reserve Consumer Help: https://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/Form/ComplaintForm
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): https://www.helpwithmybank.gov/complaints/index-file-a-bank-complaint.html
• State Consumer Protection Offices: https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer

[KENNETH20]

I opened an account with Shopify Balance. I verified my account upon opening. I got 2 payouts and then my account got blocked and my payouts were paused. The date was May 21. I contacted customer support, they told me to wait for their Internal team e-mail and what documents will be needed. It took 5 business days for the team to replay to me by e-mails, they asked for my ID pic, proof od address, social media links of the website, EIN docs, stock invoice etc. There was an option to submit all those into my account as well. I did. The notification in red says : It takes 2 business days to verify the info.
Nothing happened, I contacted customer support at least 10 times, 5 days later I received another e-mail from the Internal team, they asked me for another proof of address as utility bill and pic of the inventory with handwritten todays date.
I sent it as an attachment to the e-mail as they pointed as the best point of direct connection.
It was May 29, nothing happened afterwards. I contacted the customer support over 40 times, they did nothing besides escalating it to the Internal team. Since May 29 every couple of days I receive the very same e-mail asking me to provide them proof of address and picture of the inventory, something that I have already did at least 10 times. I replayed them directly to the e-mail asking what's going on, attaching again files etc. Nothing, they just send me the very same generic e-mail, I am sure that there is no ongoing verification process, it's just a joke. Menawhile 3037$ are blocked into this account with no reason. It has been more than 3 weeks now since this started. We are not even talking about how this impact my business, I stopped working, I have overdue bills for Google ads. We sent most of the orders to the clients, because we don't want unwanted chargebacks etc. I don't have words to describe how frustrating this is. I am attaching images to see that the generic e-mails sent from the Internal team have been answered and the reqested docs attached to them multiple times. That's fraud, what they do is illegal and they don't have any right to keep my money blocked asking for docs that I have already provided again and again.

[ConstantineLV]

I would be interested in being part of this lawsuit as well. Can you please contact me at [email protected]

Thank you

[RainbowQuest]

Yes, I'd been having the payout issue from April through July. No logical follow through with anything, Suddenly, my money was released to my store.  I've requested documentation explaining why my funds were held hostage -- I was told that if I wanted a faster review I had to upgrade my plan, which seems like extortion.  I"d like to join the lawsuit.

[WorthHome]

A class action lawsuit would be amazing. 

[Joeybryja]

21 days for us and counting 

[angelam78]

OK, I just have to ask what are you guys selling where you’re making
$400,000? Our supplies do not sell that well at all.

[WorthHome]

Hi !! Did you get any resolution? 

[WorthHome]

So we were locked out for nearly 6 weeks, and the total funds were approaching $70,000. After threatening legal, BBB and other outlets, nothing helped. Then I connected with a WSJ reporter and my funds were released within the hour.... incredible and very scary. Let me know if you are in a similar situation. Wishing you a fast and speedy outcome.

[savtrempeur]

Hello, I'm actually in the same situation and i don't know what to do, I'm trying to have this money to feed my family, and this is the only reason why I need my money, but Shopify don't want to help us can you please help me ?

[ConstantineLV]

Shopify is not holding your funds. Shopify's bank is. They have to wait on the bank to get to reviewing your case. The bank can do this at anytime and its perfectly legal. 

At this point the easiest thing to do is to stop using Shopify Payments.

Look for a 3rd party and pay the extra fees. Its worth it so that Shopify cannot hold your money. Taking Shopify out of the checkout process allows YOU to control your money and not them. I am strictly using Paypal at this point for all transactions in my store. I fully understand depends on the dollar amounts you are pulling in if Paypal will work for you. 

Here is a list of good alternatives:
PayPal

Stripe
Authorize.net

Opayo

Verifone

WorldPay

Klarna

Square

Amazon Pay

Most of these already have integrations ready for Shopify. 

[angelam78]

I was considering switching from stripe to shop pay, but they have told me my products are illegal and i would have to take them off the store to activate shop pay. this is BS, considering the manufacturer we purchase these exact products from are selling with shop pay. Not having shop pay prohibits you from selling and tagging products on social media, but now reading all of this, I dont know if it is worth it to switch to shop pay

[MilDogs]

Hello, I am new to Shopify and am also having an issue with ShopPay holding my payouts. I am researching Stripe as an alternative solution but do not see it listed within the Payments tab > Add Payment Method. How do you integrate your store with Stripe? Thank you in advance. 

[angelam78]

hi is this happening only with shop payments and not third party processors?

[angelam78]

OK, I honestly just have to ask. What are you guys selling to generate such great income? I am also very sorry about your situation. But I’m so curious to see what your store sells.

[cardellperry3]

How long did it take them to get back to you and did they fix the problem 

[chloejong]

Have you been paid? I’m considering an Instagram video to expose this. Do you have instagram? We can all band together to expose this 

[Shay]

Hi @CampanulaDesign 

Thank you so much for sharing your feedback in our community forums about this process. I fully understand how urgent it is for you to get this resolved. 

To confirm, you are using Shopify Payments for your business and are located in the USA? Our banking partners can initiate a review at any time during a businesses relationship with Shopify and Shopify Payments. In the case of selling alcohol products while accepting payment through the Shopify Payments gateway, there are certain documents and attestations that will be required. 

There is no guaranteed turn around time in reviewing these cases. We do recognize the impact having a payout hold can have an on a business and we strive to handle all cases like this with a high priority. We can only move as fast as our banking partners allow us. 

You can absolutely use an alternate payment gateway on your business while this review is happening. If you are disabling Shopify Payments, please make sure to reply back to your open ticket about this and let them know that you wish to continue with the review while the gateway is disabled. 

[SheriScraps]

Sure, we can setup an alternative gateway and pay higher fees from Shopify for not using their gateway. No thanks!

How about you hire enough people to review documents in a timely manner.

[CampanulaDesign]

Thanks for your help. Honestly this is the most coherent response we've received thus far on the issue. 

Yes, I am located in the USA. My account has been open 4 years and I clearly passed the initial review when my account was opened. No secret about my activities. 

I get that a review can be initiated at any time. My complaint is with the execution. The day before Black Friday, no warning - just payouts on hold. No merchant should be left with their livelihood in the balance - especially at the most critical financial time of the year - because these reviews are not happening in a timely and clearly outlined process. Most of my emails to Trust & Safety have gone  unanswered - including one explaining my circumstance and asking whether it would go on so long that I should switch from Shopify payments temporarily. Never answered my questions - just auto-reply "we've reached out to our banking partners". Chat unable to help at all. Had I known it would drag on, I would have switched to a different payment provider two weeks ago. That's all that I am asking for here - transparency and accountability. For my questions to actually be answered. 

Thanks again for your help. 

[vesperwine]

I am in a similar situation. I’ve been selling wine since 2020 without any issues. Then suddenly on 12/2/23, Shopify said they were doing their compliance review and may disable Shopify Payments and they put my payouts on hold.

Despite my providing them with all the necessary documentation, they disabled Shopify Payments on 12/4. They thankfully released a payout that was on hold though. I have tried contacting support by phone, and I have emailed both Legal and Risk Management departments with no response. The customer support reps can’t do anything and just say wait for the review to be complete.

In the meantime, I have been trying to get an account with Bankful set up and it takes several days. This is such a critical time for my business and I can’t be without an adequate payment provider since we do POS sales at weekly tasting events. I lost customers at an event last night since they are used to just tapping their cards on my card reader or using Apple Pay. My trying to get customers to pay via PayPal or Venmo makes me look very unreputable.

My business has taken a significant hit this week and I see from these comments that may not change. I don’t want to resort to filing complaints on the BBB site. It looks like my business needs to finally make the switch to WineDirect, which is what Shopify appears to be pushing businesses like ours to do. 

So glad they opened the site back up for you, but they won’t compensate us for any lost proceeds during the time they are completing the reviews. Not having adequate warning time to establish an alternative payment method is unacceptable and detrimental. This needs to be resolved quickly and I’ll see to it that it never happens again.

[vesperwine]

Now I’m getting the runaround from Risk Management. They responded today and asked for some of the same items I already submitted to them that were included together in the SAME submission, like they only received part of the information. I immediately sent the info again. We’ll see how long they keep this charade going. This is extremely unfair for folks like me who are running small businesses and I’m complying with everything they ask for, but still having my business impacted negatively no matter what I do. Shopify has set us up for failure - purposely conducting these ‘reviews’ exactly when sales should be most lucrative and when we’re all just trying to make it every day in a tricky economy with high inflation. 

[SheriScraps]

They did the same thing to me. I sent the information three times and finally I drew red arrows to the products they were questioning and sent them again. The irony of this whole situation is that they requested the receipts for the copyrighted products, but couldn't figure out how to actually read the receipt they requested.  

[CampanulaDesign]

Are you still waiting for resolution? Mine was finally resolved after a senior Shopify advisor on chat got involved. My husband started chats several times a day until we finally got someone who properly escalated it. Once I had a person assigned to my case it went quickly. He told me what I needed to do and got the waiver I needed from Stripe approved. Just silly that these cannot be resolved in a timely fashion for everyone. We're looking at a different solution after the holidays. I like a lot of things about Shopify but I just need to admit I need a more functionality/a more custom site and cannot afford Shopify Plus. This was the push I needed. 

[Andrew7kft]

Apologies for taking up so much time. I didn't see your reply before I made my original response. 

What type of waiver did they send you?

Many Thanks

[CampanulaDesign]

No worries at all. I am happy to share my experience if it helps anyone else. It is ridiculous to stop payouts pending review if there is not a team to actually take care of the reviews in a timely fashion. In my opinion, they could resume payouts once seeing your documentation if the situation was simply a matter of submitting required paperwork. This could (and should) also happen on the front end when you activate Shopify payments initially. Give merchants an obvious and easy way to submit required documentation. It would greatly reduce this issue. Obviously reviews happen. I expect that.  

I initially received notice on 11/24 that I had violated terms of service and was referred to the proper section of the agreement. I sell wine in my gift baskets and apparently you need a waiver to do so even though there really isn’t an avenue to request one when you activate Shopify payments to my knowledge. 

I immediately replied to all requests for documentation and then got the generic “Banking partners are reviewing” message. I replied on the 28th and the 30th asking more questions. The 1st of December I got another “banking partners are reviewing” email that did not answer my questions (timeline, should I switch to another payment provider”.  Got another such message on the 4th that I replied to. And yes - those were coming from legal instead of risk management.

On the 5th my husband sent two emails to them after opening chats with support. Chat gives you the generic “just be patient. We can’t do anything but mark this as urgent” answer. You cannot speak to anyone by phone. He was mad and persistent - opening multiple chats a day over the 5th and 6th until finally we got a senior chat advisor. Whether that was by luck of the draw or because we kept pursuing it and didn’t mark any of our conversations as resolved/closed I do not know. He said he put it into a different “bucket” for reply and that we should receive a reply within 24 hours. Within a few hours of that the man from Trust & Safety contacted me!(evening of the 6th) and said that I had to put an age gate on my products containing wine. He explained that I needed a waiver and he was requesting one. I immediately did so and emailed him confirmation. The 7th he said he had submitted everything to the bank partner. The 8th he sent notice that the review was complete. That was a Friday so payout resumed on Monday the 11th. Back payments were in two chunks on the 11th and 12th then everything went back to normal.

i did discuss with him whether I should use an alternate payment provider during the review and if my payments would be released if I turned off Shopify payments. The answer is yes but you need to email them to let them know you want the review to continue. I was in the process of switching to PayPal when payments were released. We were also looking at Bankful. Their process takes several days. My intent was to get payments released then see if I could reactivate Shopify payments pending review since there is a 2% fee charged by Shopify. For me POS wasn’t an issue - I’d have just used my Square account.  I don’t know if that would have worked or if I would have been unable to reactivate Shopify payments until the review was complete.

All of that to say I don’t know what worked. No idea whether getting resolution after the chats with support helped or it was just finally my turn. My advice is to get support tickets opened with chat support and be persistent. 

[Andrew7kft]

Thank you so much for your thorough reply. Happy holidays! 

[vesperwine]

Our Shopify Payments got reinstated a week ago and our payouts got reactivated this past Monday. So we were down for a week and the damage has already been done. We can’t recoup those lost sales. Getting a one day warning before a shutdown in December is not enough time and can severely impact a business like ours. Our Bankful account took over a week to get approved, so we had no ability to use the POS during that time. I am glad we now have an alternate payment method to fall back on, but my trust for Shopify has been diminished. I know what to expect from them now.

[Maggielee]

I am facing the same issue, I haven't received an email from them yet, could you please tell me what documents did they required?

[CampanulaDesign]

I received an email with a secure link to answer their questions/submit documentation. In my case the document was a copy of my liquor license. However, I have no idea how you would submit documentation without a link since that dept is so well insulated. I’d start a chat with support if your payouts are frozen but you have no email explaining it. 

[Maggielee]

Thank you very much for your reply! 🙂 I've chatted with Shopify Supports, they just told me to wait…… And I'm really worried they're not going to give me my money back…… Anyways, thank you very much for your sharing

[theUGC]

I am in the middle of the EXACT same process. Non-compliance and then 'banking issues'. Has affected my livelihood, my mental health, my credit rating.....

Am in complete despair at the situation. Who in trust and safety helped you??? I wonder what the actual reason is for it all?? Shopify in financial difficulties???? OWuldnt be surprised if we hear they are entering administration.

I am 

[theUGC]

I am int he process of completing this complaints procedure;

https://www.shopify.com/legal/p2b

Oh and I am changing payment gateway and building a new site on Big Commerce. Which is a shame because I really like the Shopify’s platform. Have been using it without problem for years. Definitely raising questions about their viability and security as a company.