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Getting paid: payment processing for a US company

Fix it · 2 min read

Stripe account restricted or rejected: causes and recovery

Restrictions almost always follow a surprise. Understanding which surprise you caused is most of the recovery.

The short answer

Stripe restricts accounts when activity does not match the business described at signup, when volume changes suddenly, when chargebacks exceed roughly 1%, or when the business falls into a prohibited category. Respond by supplying the requested documentation promptly and reconciling your stated business with your actual transactions.

What triggers a restriction

  1. A mismatch between your stated business and your actual transactions. The most common cause by a distance.
  2. A sudden volume change. A launch taking you from $2,000 to $60,000 in a week looks like fraud to a monitoring system.
  3. Chargebacks above roughly 1%. This puts the account into monitoring programmes.
  4. A prohibited or restricted category — the terms are explicit and enforced.
  5. Processing for someone else. Running another business's payments through your account terminates it.
  6. Identity or ownership information that cannot be verified.

The recovery sequence

  1. Read the notice carefully — it usually names the category of concern even when it is vague about specifics.
  2. Assemble documentation proving what the business actually does: signed contracts, invoices, delivery evidence, supplier relationships.
  3. Reconcile your account's stated business description with your real activity, and correct the description if it has drifted.
  4. Respond once, completely.
  5. Set up a second processor in parallel. Not to evade anything — to keep the business running.

For the wider payment stack and what to have configured as a fallback, see getting paid.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose the money in my balance?
Usually not, though it may be held while the review completes, and a reserve may be applied afterwards. Funds are typically released on a schedule rather than forfeited. Ask explicitly for the release timeline in writing.
How long do reviews take?
It varies by cause and by how quickly you supply what is asked for. Providing complete documentation in the first response is the single biggest determinant — partial responses restart the clock.
Can I just open another account?
No. Opening a second account to circumvent a restriction breaches the terms and generally results in both being closed. If the relationship genuinely cannot be repaired, move to a different provider openly.

Sources

Last reviewed . Verify against the primary source before acting.

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