40+ days after meeting Shopify’s reserve release conditions?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment
1

I’m hoping to hear from merchants who have actually gone through a Shopify Payments reserve review.

My timeline:

  • Reserve applied: April 8, 2026
  • Shopify stated the reserve could be released early if my chargeback rate remained below 1% for 30 consecutive days while continuing to process through Shopify Payments.
  • I met those conditions on May 15, 2026.
  • My case was escalated to the Credit Risk team.
  • As of today, more than 40 days have passed since I met the requirements.

What makes this confusing is that support has repeatedly told me:

  • No further action is required from me
  • No documents are needed
  • No visible blockers exist on the account
  • The case is still open

However, the reserve remains in place.

At this point, over $11,000 is being held in reserve and I’ve had to take on credit card debt to keep the business operating while waiting for a decision.

I’m not posting to complain. I’m genuinely trying to understand whether this timeline is normal.

For anyone who has successfully had a reserve released early:

  • How long after meeting the conditions did it take?
  • Did Credit Risk ever contact you directly?
  • Did the reserve disappear without notice?
  • Were you also told to simply wait?

Especially interested in hearing from merchants who had a reserve placed because of a temporary chargeback spike or card-testing attack.

Thanks in advance.

2

What is your current charge back rate at in the last 90 days?

3

0.78% over the last 90 days with the last chargeback spike being on April 13th. 0% over the last 60 days.

4

My understanding from your other post is that your account must be:

  1. under 1.5% for the last 90 days
  2. under 1% for atleast 30 days
  3. Continue to process sales via Shopify Payments

From what your telling me it seems like you have reached all of those but the key word is:

Stay below 1% for atleast 30 days. which means its not a hard 30 days and it gets removed. It is really up to the risk team or which ever department it is that handles this. Worst case is waiting until Aug 6, 2026 + 3-6 business days.

I know it sucks though.

5

So you think if nothing has happened yet I’m stuck waiting until the expiration date? No chance of early release?

6

Those are the questions no one here can ever answer for you. That is up to whoever is overseeing your account reserve. No one here knows how they pick and choose to have early release.