YOUR SHOPIFY PAYMENTS ACCOUNT IS ON HOLD… NOW WHAT?
“YOUR SHOPIFY PAYMENTS ACCOUNT IS ON HOLD.”
Seven words that can be the difference between a successful eCommerce business
… or a colorful learning experience.
Unfortunately, it’s an experience more and more merchants in the supplement industry are getting thrown into.
The appeal of Shopify Payments is understandable – According to their website, you can sign up and begin accepting payments almost immediately, no fuss, no muss.
In reality, that sentence needs to be followed by more asterisks than your uncle’s “Big Fish” story.
As more and more entrepreneurs are finding out, Shopify is really only that easy for a select few.
Per Shopify’s definition of eligible merchants, anyone operating in “High Risk” categories isn’t actually welcome on their system.
(https://help.shopify.com/manual/payment-settings/shopify-payments/setting-up-shopify-payments)
REASONS YOUR SHOPIFY PAYMENTS MIGHT BE ON HOLD
- Shopify, or more accurately “The Shopify Risk Team,” discovered you’re in a “high-risk industry.”
- Shopify’s payments are facilitated through Stripe, so your payments might be on hold because Stripe changed their definition of what a “high-risk merchant” is — which they often do.
- If you have too many unfulfilled orders, Shopify might place a hold on your account. You might have to remind them that your business deals in handmade products that you create yourself.
- If you have a situation as above, Shopify feels that might lead to you getting some chargebacks. (When a cardholder disputes a transaction with their issuing bank, that’s a chargeback.)
- Shopify sometimes needs to verify your identity for their banking partners.
- Shopify, or their banking partners, may sometimes need supplementary account holder information for purposes of verification.
- Shopify sometimes classifies certain orders as being “risky.” If you have too many of these, it will trigger the “Payments on Hold” message.
- If there is a violation of Shopify’s Terms of Service, that may place your payments on hold.
- If a bank transfer failed for any reason, Shopify will put your payments on hold until the issue is resolved. To fix the issue that might be causing transfers to fail, follow the instructions on the Transfer Failed banner, located on your Payouts page.
- If you change your banking details, this may cause Shopify to place your payments on hold.
- If Shopify needs more documentation or information, they may place a hold on your payments. Documentation can take up to 3 business days to review.
- Sometimes the address on the account and the details of the person creating the account do not perfectly match up. You may need to submit a utility bill or other documentation of the people and addresses involved.
- Occasionally submitting these documents can result in a loop. You might be repeatedly asked for this information. This is a good time to contact Shopify support and get them to resolve the issue.
- Depending on which country your business operates from, every so often you may be asked to submit additional documentation. This happens when banking partners request current information in order to reduce risk or fraud. It can also happen when the country updates their banking regulations.
If you’ve been notified that your Shopify payments are on hold, it’s likely that Shopify has decided they aren’t happy with your particular type of business — because they never underwrote it in the first place.
Easy Pay Direct works with nearly every business model! We can help you navigate that situation, and we can help you avoid it in the future.
Get started with Easy Pay Direct today! Schedule a call with us, or set up your account now.
How do I know If I’m “High Risk”?
That’s a difficult question to answer – but here’s the scoop…
Shopify’s payments are actually facilitated by Stripe, so the most accurate answer is that your business is “high risk” when Stripe decides it is.
Stripe makes frequent changes to their list of High Risk businesses, with very little warning before-hand to merchants on their platform.
So am I “High Risk”?
Stripe’s new terms and conditions say that…
- Any product that is drop shipped is considered “high risk”
- Any product that makes ANY claims about health benefits is considered “high risk”.
- ALL supplements are considered “high risk”
- All products that have affiliates promoting them are considered “high risk”
And these are just the recent changes that they have made!
Since they aren’t taking the time to understand your business at the onset, you never know when you are under review and about to get thrown into the “high risk” bucket too. Make sure that you’re using shopify ab testing before selling your products.
What do I do now?
Whether your account has already been closed, or you just aren’t willing to leave your financial well-being to chance, there are steps you can (and should) take.
- Make sure you are working with a company that understands your business. Your provider needs to understand how and what you are selling, and know which member banks are best suited to work with your product type.
- Ensure you have your “eggs” spread out into more than one basket. If your provider doesn’t work with more than one member bank, it’s time to find a company better suited to keep your business safe.
- Use the right technology to support your business.
Using a payment gateway which can divide your volume across your merchant accounts with various member banks (automatically) is the final piece of the puzzle.
Being able to run sales without having to micromanage on a transactional level will let you get back to the important things, running your business.
If you’re interested in working with Easy Pay Direct, click the button below to start your application.