Shut Down by Stripe: What Now?

When you receive an email from Stripe saying that your account has been closed, you may be surprised by this news. After all, there's no reason for your account to be closed unless one of two things has happened: (1) you violated Stripe's terms of service or (2) Stripe made a mistake. Either way, you are unsure of what happens now and how you can continue running your business with a closed Stripe account. Here's what you need to know about being shut down by Stripe and how to move forward.

What happens to your account once it's terminated?

If your Stripe account is shut down, you will receive an email notifying you of the closure. This means that Stripe is no longer able to conduct business with you and your company. The decision to close an account is permanent. However, if you feel that this was a mistake, you can ask for your account to be reinstated.

If you do not have access to the email associated with your Stripe account, you can chat with a representative by visiting support.stripe.com. When an account is closed, Stripe places a hold on any funds you may have processed with Stripe for 180 days. As a payment processor, they’re required by card networks to hold funds in order to cover any potential disputes or chargebacks that may arise from your business's transactions. You can find more information about Stripe's requirements by referring to the Stripe support page.

After your hold's waiting period has elapsed, you can transfer the funds into your bank account from your Stripe dashboard. You can also view any deductions made against your funds if you had a dispute with your business during the hold period. Stripe will assess these disputes and offset them from your remaining balance.

Why was my account terminated?

Stripe has an easy and convenient enrollment process for business owners, but as a firm, you may not have a lot of control over how Stripe views your business and the products or services you offer. This is because Stripe's policies allow them to close your account for various reasons that they may deem worthy of your account's closure, regardless of whether your business has received disputes or not. According to Stripe's terms of service, "Stripe may terminate this Agreement (or any part of it) or close your Stripe Account at any time for any or no reason (including if any event listed in Sections 6.2(a)-(i) of these General Terms occurs)."

In the event this happens, there is not much that you can do to overturn this decision as Stripe does not need to provide you with an explanation for the reason they closed your account. Stripe can close your account for various reasons, including high dispute ratios. This is when your customers go to their bank to file a dispute against your business. In these cases, Stripe can close your business without further notice, leaving you stuck without accepting payments until you find a new payment provider. Here are some common reasons for Stripe to close your merchant account:

You haven’t been processing with Stripe for 90 consecutive days.
You’ve violated their Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, or any other policy.
Your account is overdrawn and you have insufficient funds in the account to cover transactions held.
You have excessive chargebacks or disputes on your account.
Your financial information is inaccurate or cannot be verified.

What to do if Stripe shuts down your account?

If you've had your Stripe account shut down, here is what you should do:

Read the notification provided to you by Stripe. The notification will usually provide some more details about the reason for their determination and cause for termination.
Check all of your bank accounts' activity to see if Stripe has stopped making deposits into your account or if they have debited you for any disputes or fees.
If there were transactions that were not completed at the time of shut down, you may need to run these sales with another payment provider.
If possible, try to get a new merchant account with another processor, like Redde, and use their virtual terminal to issue refunds to your customers for any chargebacks or other negative transactions on your closed account with Stripe.

Will Stripe reactivate my account?

In general, you probably won't be able to get your account reopened, but you may be able to sign up for a new one. Stripe will typically let you know if they are willing to re-instate your account or allow you to apply for a new one. If your account was terminated because of activity that Stripe didn't like (fraudulent activity or selling restricted products or services), you won't be allowed to reopen your account again. But if your account was simply closed due to inactivity (not using the card reader, for example) or because your business changed in some way, then reopening an existing account and resuming its use might be possible.

If a merchant account is terminated, it's not likely to be reopened again. The problem you will have if you decide to open a new account under a different name or business, Stripe may close out your account for the same reason, leaving your business in the same position. Instead, you should try using a different payment provider who can get you up and running fast to prevent any further loss of business.

Why should you switch from Stripe to Redde Payments?

Our creators and founders have been in the payment processing industry for over a decade. We've seen everything from hidden fees, bad contracts and unfulfilled promises. Redde is our way of changing the industry for the better.

Our promise to you:

No long-term contracts - We're so confident that you're going to love our service that we don't require a contract. If you're not happy with us, you can cancel at any time.
No cancellation or early termination fees - You'll never be hit with a cancellation fee should you decide not to use our service anymore.
Your pricing will be transparent - Our easy-to-find pricing means you will always know exactly what you are paying for.
No bots, EVER– We're different than the others. We don't hide behind automated agent answering systems. No recordings or robots—you'll speak with an actual customer service representative who will answer your questions and give you advice that is just for you and your needs. Give it a try! Message us through our website chat and talk to a real person!

Takeaway

If you're a business owner, you deserve better than Stripe. Stripe is losing a lot of ground to its competitors. Alternative providers like Redde Payments offer much friendlier and more helpful support staff, with actual human beings you can call on for assistance instead of automated chatbots. Even better, there's no contract required or penalties for cancellation. If Stripe is giving you headaches and frustrating you to no end, consider switching over to Redde. Your customers will thank you.

Shut Down by Stripe: What Now?