I want to start this off by saying that this is in no way an attack, but instead a complaint.
I have been operating the merch store for my production company for a little bit of time now. Whenever I tried to upload the documents and everything to prove I was who I said, the files wouldn’t upload on the app or the website. Whatever, so I just let the time run out. Eventually, I get a notification that I won’t be able to make payouts or payments (effective as of yesterday). Whatever, I decide I’ll just switch over to another ecommerce store since I haven’t heard the greatest things about shopify anyways (like holding money for 120 days) and I’m trying to make something that works for me. So I get started setting up my new ecommerce store and suddenly my phone goes off with a notification, that my payment went through to shopify (to keep the store up).
Now I have one major question; If I’m not allowed to access the money I make because Shopify couldn’t verify my information, why are they still allowed to take my money from that same account they aren’t even sure is mine?
Thank you for sharing your experience here. I definitely understand your question, and I’d be happy to provide some additional context for you.
From your post it sounds like you had a KYC (Know Your Customer) review for your Shopify Payment accounts. You had some issues with uploading verification documents so you decided to move away from the Shopify platform, but didn’t deactivate your store.
Your KYC review is specifically for your use of Shopify Payments on your store, this is a standard process used by all payment gateways to verify your information and ensure that your business is legitimate. While Shopify Payments is a popular payment gateway, it is not the only one you can use on your store. There are dozens of alternative payment options, including accepting payment for order from outside the website or in person. Not being able to use Shopify Payments on your store does not stop you from continuing to use your online store.
Since the store was not deactivated your billing plan continues on the platform. Account owners have the ability to deactivate their online store at any time, and this is something you can do in your admin under Settings > Plan > Deactivate Store.
I am sorry to hear that you were having difficulties in this verification process. If you do wish to continue with the KYC for Shopify Payments you can connect with our authenticated support team for assistance in our Help Center. To access our authenticated support, please follow this link: Shopify Help Center, open the AI chat and type “contact support”. Follow the prompts to get connected.
You also referred to the risk of payout holds, this is definitely something that can be put in place for new merchant accounts. This is also an industry standard and something that almost all online payment gateways can do, as agreed upon in their terms of service. It is used when there is a risk of chargebacks or low trust with the business entity.
If you do have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I hope that you may reconsider using Shopify now or in the future for your business needs.