Stripe jeopardised my Business with $2 million/year TO projection
Long story short,
I opened a new Stripe account about 3 month ago for my travel business. While the Stripe account is new, my business and client relationships are not.
I work with established B2B clients and long-term customers, some of whom I have worked with for years and have met personally. These aren't random one-time customers appearing out of nowhere.
I started using Stripe because I liked the platform, the overall experience and the rates, and I wanted to continue using it as a payment processor for my growing business.
Last week, I processed a $15,000 transaction from an established client. This client had previously done $10K–$12K transactions with me, so this wasn't a completely new customer suddenly making a large payment.
Stripe triggered a review.
I cooperated fully and provided the information they requested, including:
- Proof of my business
- Explanation of the transaction
- Customer information
- WhatsApp conversations with the client showing our relationship and the context of the transaction
- Additional documentation requested during the review
My account has had zero chargebacks. I have not had a fraud-related issue with any transaction, even with past merchants.
I also have existing business contracts and commitments that mean my expected processing volume going forward is going to be well over $2 million per year.
Despite providing all of this information, Stripe rejected my appeal and closed the account.
Their message says:
>
They have also paused approximately 35 GRANDS of my funds for 120 days, stating that the funds will be used to cover potential disputes or refunds and that the remaining balance will be transferred to my bank account on December 10. To add to the misery, they are trying to pull back previously settled funds.
This is incredibly frustrating as I have dues to clear and failing to do so will negatively impact by long standing vendor relationship. I might lose a lot of business.
Funny enough, stripe also lost around 2 million a year in processing volume.
I actually liked Stripe. I liked the platform, the overall experience and the rates, and I wanted to continue using Stripe long-term. But having approximately $45K held for four months after I cooperated with their review and provided documentation is extremely difficult to accept.
It feels like the system sees a relatively new Stripe account and larger-than-average transactions and immediately categorizes the business as high risk, without understanding the underlying customer relationships or the nature of the transactions.
I have already completed Stripe's review/appeal process and provided all the requested documentation. I have also started looking into formal complaint channels, including the BBB and CFPB, because I want this matter properly documented and reviewed rather than simply being told to wait 120 days with no meaningful opportunity to speak with someone who can actually examine the circumstances.
PROMOTING THIS POST COZ Stripe mods deleted it multiple times.