Experiencing payout hold during account review?

Shopify Discussion
1

Has anyone had problems with Shopify holding payouts while the account is under review? Shopify has held onto our money for almost two weeks. They have escalated our case and set a high priority, but we have not had any communication from Shopify. Please let me know if you have had this experience with Shopify and how you resolved it. Did you need to take legal action?

2

I’m pretty sure you just need to wait until you hear back from them. Otherwise, you can try reaching out to Shopify’s support team directly, for more information.

Just to note though, if you’re using Shopify Payments, and the site you’re working with is pharmacopia.net – it makes sense that they’d want to review your site, since your store’s name has “pharma” in it.

See here: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/eligibility

Prohibited businesses and products:

  • Regulated or illegal products and services: products or services that require regulatory approval or compliance, such as cannabis and related products, prescription drugs, medical devices, tobacco and related products, firearms, holsters, ammunition, or weapons.

They’re essentially going to be reviewing your site to make sure you’re not making any unbacked scientific health claims, or selling any prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical products aren’t allowed on Shopify Payments, so having “pharma” in your store name is probably what triggered the system to review your site (and hold your payouts).

3

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for your reply. Pharmacopia has been selling natural bodycare products for over 20 years and we have had a Shopify store for four years. Could you please give me an update on ticket 43887845? This case has been escalated for over a week and set as high priority but we have not heard from the Payments Department. Shopify has been holding on to our payments for two weeks now. This is unacceptable.

4

Hey @pharmacopia

I don’t actually work for Shopify - I’m a freelancer, answering posts on my own time here - so I wouldn’t have any access or insights to your help tickets with Shopify.

5

I am currently in this boat and have no clue what is happening. I have been with shopify since 2018