Stripe closed my Shopify store's account: what now

If Stripe has closed the account your Shopify store was taking payments through, three things matter in the first few days: finding out exactly why, asking for a review if Stripe has misread your business, and looking after the customers who have already paid you. Finding a new way to take payments comes after those, and this page takes them in that order.

Step 1: find out exactly why

Stripe says that when it closes an account it emails the account holder with the reason, and the Stripe Dashboard shows a red banner at the top with more information. Read both before doing anything else. The usual cause, in Stripe's own words, is a business that does not comply with its rules, most often because it falls on Stripe's prohibited and restricted businesses list. Elevated disputes and unexplained spikes in volume are among the risk factors Stripe names for reserves.

Step 2: ask for a review, if Stripe got it wrong

1. 1Use the form linked in Stripe's closure email. Stripe says it takes you to your Dashboard to provide more information, and that this is how to request another review if you think it misunderstood your business category.
2. 2Explain plainly what you sell, to whom, and how it is delivered. Link the exact product pages.
3. 3Attach evidence: business registration, supplier invoices, tracking and delivery records, your refund policy, and any licences your category needs.
4. 4Check your category against Stripe's list honestly. Stripe says some restricted categories can be supported with explicit prior approval, and that some, such as illegal products or services, are never eligible. If your business is on the never list, a review will not change the outcome.

Step 3: look after the customers who already paid

Stripe is clear that a closed account does not end your responsibilities. The account owner stays responsible for refunds that are issued and for any disputes that arise after closure. So:

• Ship every open order and keep the tracking numbers. Proof of delivery is your main defence in a dispute.
• Answer customer emails quickly. A customer who cannot reach you files a chargeback.
• Keep Dashboard access and watch for disputes, and respond to each one before its deadline.
• Expect Stripe to keep part of your balance back. Stripe says it holds reserves so an account can cover expected refunds and disputes, in fixed or rolling form, and reviews them a few days before they expire. It does not publish how long funds are held after a closure, so ask Stripe support in writing for the amount held and the release date.

Step 4: check what it means for your Shopify store

Your Shopify store itself is a separate account with Shopify. The storefront, products and orders are still there, but the checkout has no way to take cards until you activate another provider in Settings, then Payments. If you are in a country where Shopify Payments is available and you are eligible, that is the simplest option and avoids Shopify's third-party transaction fee. Shopify Payments has its own acceptable business rules, so check them first.

Step 5: choose how to take payments again

Do not try to get around the closure

It is tempting to open a new account under a different name, or to describe the business differently to the next processor. Do not. Opening an account to evade a closure breaches the processor's terms and risks a second closure with more money held, and misdescribing what you sell is a breach of any processor's terms too. If the business is legal but not accepted by mainstream processors, the honest route is a provider that openly supports your category.

That applies to Whop as well. Whop has its own acceptable use rules and a published list of prohibited and restricted businesses, which includes many of the same categories Stripe restricts. Whop says it reviews merchants at account creation, first payment and first payout, freezes payouts when a merchant cannot prove what they sell, and terminates businesses that lied about what they sell. Read the list, and only apply if your business fits it.

• Whop: prohibited and restricted businesses
• Whop: how reserves work
• Whop: supported payout countries

If Whop is a fit: connecting it to Shopify

Whop is not in Shopify's provider list, so it cannot be added in Settings. Pendym replaces the checkout page instead: the card is charged through your own Whop account and the paid order is written back into Shopify, so fulfilment, inventory and customer emails carry on. Setup is four steps: connect Whop, verify a card with a $1 hold that is released, create a small app in your Shopify Dev Dashboard and paste its keys, and paste one line into theme.liquid. There is no monthly fee. Pendym charges 0.5% per order, billed to the verified card, and Whop's own processing fees apply.

Be clear about the limits. It is not a Shopify payment gateway. The Shop Pay, PayPal and Google Pay express buttons in the cart are hidden while it is on, Shopify gift cards cannot be redeemed at the checkout, and anything that lived on Shopify's checkout page no longer applies.

Sources

• Stripe Support: why was my Stripe account closed?
• Stripe Support: refunds and disputes after closing a Stripe account
• Stripe Support: reserves, frequently asked questions
• Stripe: prohibited and restricted businesses
• Shopify Help Center: acceptable business practices for Shopify Payments
• Shopify Payments by country