My Customer Paid the Outstanding Balance

Topic summary

A merchant received an email indicating a customer’s outstanding balance was paid, yet the order remains in “Payment pending,” and the payment provider shows the payment link as unpaid.

Recommended steps:

  • Ask the customer for an invoice history screenshot to confirm payment.
  • Check with the payment provider for any status update or mismatch.
  • If payment is confirmed, contact Shopify Support via the Help Center’s AI chat and proceed to “I still need help” or “chat with a support advisor” to request a manual status update.
  • Prepare screenshots of the payment confirmation and the order timeline for support.

Recent insight: Another user saw this when a customer clicked “Pay now” after an unpaid balance email, went through checkout, but chose COD (cash on delivery). This can trigger payment-related emails without settling the balance, leaving the order pending.

Outcome: No resolution yet. The thread is open, pending verification with the customer/payment provider and possible Shopify support intervention.

Summarized with AI on December 17. AI used: gpt-5.

This happened to us two days ago. We changed the order, so the customer received an email stating that they had an unpaid balance. I guess they clicked “Pay now”, went through the checkout, and again selected COD, which triggered the email we got.