The payments were coming in fine. Then a banner appears in the Stripe Dashboard, or an email arrives: Stripe is reviewing your account, and it needs more information about your business. It might want your website updated, a better description of what you sell, invoices, photos of stock, or proof you actually deliver what customers pay for.
This is not the same as the identity checks that ask for your ID or date of birth, or a payout that bounced from your bank. Those have their own fixes. This is Stripe's risk and business review: it is deciding whether it can support what you sell and how you sell it, and whether money it sends you might have to come back as refunds or chargebacks. Most reviews end with the account carrying on as normal. The ones that don't usually go wrong because the request was answered late, vaguely, or not at all.
First, work out what is actually paused
Stripe's Unacceptable Risk Policy lists the actions it can take on an account it is worried about: restrict or pause charges, restrict or pause payouts, reverse payments, or begin closing the account. Each one feels different from your side, so look at the red banner at the top of your Dashboard and read the email before you do anything. Stripe's help says that if there is no red banner, the account has no outstanding requirements.
- A reserve: part of your balance is held back. Stripe's reserves FAQ says a reserve does not affect your ability to keep accepting payments. Skip to cause three.
- Payments blocked on a new account: Stripe says it is reviewing the details you submitted, and unless it asks for more information there is no action for you to take.
- A request for business information or documents: nothing moves forward until you answer it. See causes one and two.
- An email saying Stripe can't support your business: the account is being closed. See cause four, and the section on what happens to the money.
Cause 1: Your website doesn't match what you told Stripe
Stripe checks the site you gave it. Its business website FAQ says your website, social media profile or app must show your business name and a description of the goods or services you offer, and that these must line up with the information you gave Stripe. If you signed up as a coaching business and the site is selling digital downloads, or the link points to an unfinished page, that alone can start a review.
Stripe also says the site has to work at all times, and that it checks it regularly. If it finds a problem you will need to update the site or give it a new one. Before you reply, open your own site in a private window and check it against Stripe's list:
- Your business name and a clear description of what you sell, matching what is in your Stripe account.
- Customer service contact details: a phone number, email, address, contact form or chat.
- A refund and dispute policy, a return policy if you sell physical goods, and a cancellation policy if one applies.
- Terms for any promotions, and any legal or export restrictions that apply to your products.
- No password on the page. Stripe says it must be reachable without one, and if you block some countries from viewing it, you need to lift that block until the site is verified.
- If you use a social profile instead of a website, give Stripe the full URL of that exact profile, not just a handle or the platform's home page.
Cause 2: Stripe wants documents to prove the business is real
Sometimes the website is fine and Stripe still wants evidence. Its supporting documents page recommends sending everything you have, uploaded through the Dashboard. Whatever you send, Stripe says the business name, address, registration number and VAT number on it should match what is on your Stripe account, and that documents must be valid, show current registration, and be clear and large enough to read. If something runs across several pages, upload one PDF with all of them in it.
Stripe's help says to allow 3 to 5 business days for documents you have just submitted to be reviewed. What it asks for by type of business:
- Every business: a business tax or VAT registration certificate from a local government office. In the US that comes from the state, not the IRS.
- US businesses: the EIN confirmation letter (Form CP 575), plus a 'Doing Business As' statement if you trade under another name.
- Non-profits: a local government identification document, or in the US an IRS 501(c) determination letter.
- Physical products: photos of your inventory, and purchase orders or shipment tracking numbers from the last 60 days. Stripe says not to send photos of sealed boxes.
- Physical services: photos of your equipment, itemized customer invoices and six months of official business bank statements.
- Accounts under 90 days old: six months of statements from your previous payment processor.
Cause 3: Something about your sales looks risky
Stripe's help on business risk says it considers your industry, how far in advance customers pay you, and the business's history, and that it reassesses risk on a regular basis. Its reserves FAQ names longer-than-average delivery windows, rising disputes and an unexplained sharp increase in processing volume. A preorder launch, a big promotion or a viral post can look like the last one even when nothing is wrong.
In these reviews Stripe may ask about your suppliers and vendors, your refund policy, your fraud prevention, your typical customers and your processing volume and dispute rate. Its help says plainly that it may have difficulty supporting businesses with a dispute rate above 1% by volume or count. During a review it may also ask for financial information such as bank balances, transaction history or financial statements.
The outcome is often a reserve rather than a closure. Stripe reviews each reserve a few days before it ends and may remove, reduce, extend or increase it. If you think it is wrong, look for an appeal option on the 'Balances' page in the Dashboard; Stripe says to contact it if you don't see one, with as much detail and documentation as you can, such as delivery times, tracking and refund figures. Reserved funds are released in full at the end of the period if they aren't needed for refunds or disputes.
Cause 4: Stripe decided it can't support the business
This is the hardest outcome. Stripe's help says that if a business doesn't comply with its rules and it can't support it, you get an email at the address on the account stating the reason, and a red banner in the Dashboard with more detail. If what you sell is on Stripe's Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list, Stripe says it won't be able to accept payments for you, and no amount of paperwork changes that.
If you think Stripe got your business wrong, for example it read a wellness product as a medical one, use the form linked in the closure email. It takes you to your Dashboard to explain the business. Stripe's policy says appeals get a manual review, you are told the result by email, and you can appeal again if the first one fails. Explain plainly what you sell, who buys it, how it is delivered and your refund policy.
What happens to your balance if the account is closed
Stripe's Unacceptable Risk Policy sets out the timeline. Stripe will typically restrict or pause payouts to your bank account for 120 days from the date of the first email telling you what action it took. That money is there to cover refunds, disputes and chargebacks from sales you already made, and Stripe warns the balance can reach zero with nothing left to pay out.
At the end of the 120 days Stripe does a formal review and emails you the outcome. It may release all or part of what is left, keep holding it, or cancel the payout. The policy says Stripe holds those funds separately from its own. While you wait, keep handling refund requests and disputes: Stripe's refunds FAQ says the account owner is still responsible for refunds and disputes even after an account is closed.
Prevent it next time
Most of what triggers a business review is visible on your own website and in your own sales pattern, so it is fixable before Stripe asks.
- Keep the website or profile Stripe has on file live, public and accurate. If you change what you sell, update your business details in Stripe too.
- Put a refund policy, contact details and delivery times where customers can find them without searching.
- Use a statement descriptor customers will recognise on their card statement; Stripe checks it is clear and accurate.
- Before a big launch or preorder, keep tracking numbers and supplier invoices organised so you can answer a request the same day.
- Watch your dispute rate and refund quickly when a customer is unhappy. Stripe's help notes that customers who don't know how to get a refund are more likely to dispute the charge.
- Answer every request from Stripe promptly. Its help says to provide the information as soon as possible to avoid delays to your account.
Don't let one review stop every sale
A OneSol page on Pro can take payments through your own Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay or Square account, so if one processor is reviewing you, you can keep selling through another while you answer it. It won't speed up Stripe's review; the steps above are still how that gets resolved.