Shopify Payments is on hold and needs to be updated with inforamtion

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A sole proprietor is experiencing a Shopify Payments hold due to a tax identification mismatch. The account was set up with an EIN (Employer Identification Number), but as a sole proprietor, the IRS requires a Social Security Number instead.

Current Status:

  • Payments are on hold, preventing store operations
  • User cannot self-update the tax information in their account settings
  • Support ticket #53640015 has been opened

Additional Complication:
The user received a rejection notice for Shopify Balance and Balance Card due to identity verification failure within the 30-day window.

Key Issue:
The user is frustrated by the inability to speak directly with support to resolve this tax ID correction, which is blocking their ability to process payments and operate their store.

Summarized with AI on November 3. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

My Shopify Payments is on hold due to inaccurate information. I have an EIN number and it’s wanting my social security number instead because I’m a Sole Proprietor and the IRS needs my social security number instead of the EIN number. I’m not able to update this information myself. I have a ticket open for this, 53640015. I received an email today (see below). I need to get this fixed so I can use my store. Can someone please help me with this? Not being able to talk to a real person makes this type of issue difficult. Thank you!

Hello Susan Mines,

Your recent application for Shopify Balance and the Balance Card was not approved because we couldn’t verify your identity within 30 days.

If your store becomes eligible to apply for Shopify Balance again, we’ll contact you.

Sincerely,

Shopify Balance