Shopify Payments Verification: Is a US LLC and Bank Account Not Enough Without Physical Operations?

Ask & Offer
1

Hi everyone,

I recently received an email from Shopify’s Merchant Verification team regarding my eligibility for Shopify Payments.

My business is registered as a US LLC, and I also have a US business bank account. However, I currently live in Turkey and manage the entire online business remotely from Turkey.

The company operates an e-commerce store through Shopify. We do not currently have employees, an office, a retail location, or our own warehouse in the United States. Orders are fulfilled by third-party suppliers and shipped directly to customers.

Shopify informed me that business registration and a bank account are not sufficient. According to their email, the business must also have a substantial physical operational presence in the supported country, such as:

  • An office with employees
  • A warehouse used for order fulfillment
  • A physical retail location
  • Other substantial business operations physically taking place in the country

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced a similar verification process.

  1. Is Shopify Payments unavailable for a US LLC if the owners and operations are located outside the United States?
  2. Would working with a US-based 3PL or fulfillment warehouse count as a substantial physical operational presence?
  3. What kind of evidence does Shopify normally accept for this requirement?
  4. Has anyone successfully completed verification under similar circumstances?
  5. What alternative payment providers would you recommend for a Shopify store operated from Turkey through a US LLC?

I want to provide Shopify with accurate and transparent information, but I would like to understand whether there is a legitimate way to meet the operational presence requirement.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

2

I’m not Shopify but imo if the only thing that ties a business to the US is paperwork, that’s not enough for a substantial physical presence. I don’t imagine simply paying a 3PL would be either. I’m sure there are other options besides Shopify Payments. PayTR and iyzico come up in Google Search.

3

Shopify is basically pushing us to use Shopify Payments because so many useful features only work with it. PayPal, Klarna, Shop Pay, and other payment options are already built into the system.

Asking for proof of a physical presence in the US honestly feels strange. We already have a US company and pay our taxes there. Where I personally live should not really matter. I could live in Turkey, Honduras, or anywhere else.

We have been running this business since 2019, and we are simply trying to grow it. We have been looking for a solution to this issue for months, but Shopify has not given us any real support or clear guidance.

We are already using Stripe, but that does not solve the problem. We want to use Shopify Payments and access all the features that come with it.

4

I just thought of this and it’s kind of funny and ironic. Usually foreign-owned LLCs try to avoid establishing a physical presence and keep everything virtual, but for this they want you to prove it lol