# Frozen: the 48-hour plan

**For when:** Stripe has paused your payouts, put a reserve on your balance, asked for documents, restricted your account for risk, or closed it.

**Read this now, while nothing is wrong.** The best hour of this plan is the one you spend before you need it (see "Before it happens" at the end).

> Not legal or financial advice. This is a practical plan, not a promise of any outcome. Stripe decides based on its own risk review, and it doesn't publish all its criteria. If large sums are at stake, talk to a payments lawyer or accountant. Last verified: October 2026.

---

## Hour 0–1: Breathe, then find out which situation you're in

Don't reply yet. Don't post about it publicly. Don't open a new account or reroute payments in a hurry: a new account tied to the same people and business, opened right after a restriction, looks like an attempt to get around the review.

**Look in 3 places:** the Dashboard banner, your email (including spam), and Dashboard → Balance.

| What you see | Situation | What it usually means | Can you still sell? |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Reserve" on the Balance page; email with a % and a period | **A. Reserve** | A share of funds is held (fixed or rolling) to cover future refunds and disputes. Released at the end of the period if not needed. | Yes. Stripe: "Reserves do not impact a business's ability to continue accepting payments." |
| Banner asking for information or verification; payouts paused | **B. Info request** | Stripe needs documents or details before it pays out. | Usually yes, while you respond. |
| Email about risk; charges or payouts restricted | **C. Risk restriction** | Stripe may pause charges, pause payouts, or reverse payments. | Maybe not. |
| Email saying the account will be closed | **D. Closure** | Payouts are typically held for 120 days from the notice email. You can appeal through the Dashboard. | No. |

Sources: [Reserves FAQ](https://support.stripe.com/questions/reserves-faq) · [Why Stripe reserves funds](https://support.stripe.com/questions/stripe-reserving-funds) · [Unacceptable Risk Policy](https://stripe.com/legal/unacceptable-risk-policy)

**Do now (15 minutes):**

- [ ] Screenshot the banner, the email, and the Balance page. Write the date and time on each.
- [ ] Write down exactly what Stripe asked for, word for word. Your reply will answer only that, completely.
- [ ] Note your numbers for the last 90 days: volume per week, refunds, disputes, early fraud warnings. Open `tools/dispute-rate-calculator.html` and save a screenshot.
- [ ] Write one paragraph: what changed recently? A launch, a new product, a price change, an affiliate campaign, a viral post, a new country, a new ad channel? A volume spike nobody explained is a listed reason for reserves.

## Hour 1–6: Build the evidence pack

Prepare everything, even what wasn't asked. You'll send only what's requested, but you'll have the rest ready if a second request comes. Name files clearly: `01_business_registration.pdf`, `02_owner_id.pdf`, etc.

**Business identity**
- [ ] Company registration document (or sole-trader registration).
- [ ] ID of the owner(s), matching the account.
- [ ] Proof of business address.
- [ ] Bank statement showing the payout account is in the business's name.

**What you sell and how you deliver it**
- [ ] One-page product description: what it is, who buys it, price points, how access is delivered, how long delivery takes.
- [ ] Screenshots of your homepage, pricing page, checkout, refund policy, terms, privacy policy, and contact page, with dates.
- [ ] Sample delivery proof for 5–10 recent orders: access email logs + first login or download, with timestamps.
- [ ] Proof the product is real and running: e.g. hosting or AI API invoices that scale with your usage, app store listing, or a short list of active customers (count, not names).

**Your risk numbers, explained**
- [ ] Last 90 days: volume, refund count, dispute count, dispute rate, early fraud warnings.
- [ ] For each dispute in the period: the category, and whether you fought, won, lost, or accepted.
- [ ] If volume spiked: the cause, with proof (launch email, ad campaign screenshot, partner post, press link as a screenshot).
- [ ] What you've already changed: Radar rules added, 3DS turned on, descriptor fixed, refund policy clarified, a bad traffic source stopped.

**Money**
- [ ] Current balance and pending payouts.
- [ ] Refunds you still owe customers (if any). Plan to pay them: unpaid refunds turn into disputes.

## Hour 6–12: Protect customers and revenue

**Existing customers come first.** Keep delivering every order and every subscription you've been paid for. A freeze followed by undelivered orders becomes a wave of "not received" disputes, which turns a review into a closure.

**If you can still accept payments (A, often B):** keep selling normally. Pause anything that adds risk: a new ad campaign, a big launch, a new country, a new affiliate. Don't push volume through an account under review.

**If you can't accept payments (C, D) and have a backup ready:**

- [ ] Switch your checkout links to your backup (merchant of record, second processor, or checkout layer). See Chapter 6 of the README.
- [ ] Update every place a buy link lives: site, emails, bio links, pinned posts, ads.
- [ ] Send the "Our checkout moved" email (template 8 in `templates/customer-messages.md`) only to people with open carts or upcoming orders, if relevant.
- [ ] Be truthful with your backup provider. If their onboarding asks whether you've had an account closed or restricted, answer honestly. Hiding it is a reason to close the new account later.

**If you have no backup yet:** apply to one merchant of record today with an honest, complete application. Expect it to take days, not hours. Meanwhile, invoices or bank transfer for B2B customers can bridge the gap (check your local tax and invoicing rules).

**Customer message (if anything visible changed):**

```
Subject: Quick update about [PRODUCT]

Hi [FIRST_NAME],

A quick note: we're [changing our payment provider / updating our checkout].
Your access and your orders are not affected. [If billing changes: "Your next charge will show as [NEW_DESCRIPTOR]."]

If anything looks off, reply to this email and I'll sort it out personally.

[NAME], [BUSINESS]
```

Short, factual, no drama. Never speculate in writing about why, or about the outcome.

## Hour 12–24: Send one complete reply

Send **one** clear, complete message through the Dashboard (or the channel Stripe asked you to use). Not ten. Answer every question asked, in the same order, and attach the matching files.

**Reply template**

```
Subject: [Account ID] – Response to your request dated [DATE]

Hello,

Thank you for reviewing our account. Below are the answers to each point you raised, with documents attached.

1. [Their first question, quoted]
   [Your answer, 2–4 factual sentences.] See attachment [01_...].

2. [Their second question, quoted]
   [Answer.] See attachment [02_...].

About our business
[BUSINESS_NAME] sells [PRODUCT], a [one-line description]. Customers pay [one-time / monthly / yearly] between [PRICE RANGE]. Access is delivered [instantly by email / by account login] and we keep login and usage logs for every customer.

About recent activity [if relevant]
Volume increased from about [X] to [Y] per week between [DATE] and [DATE] because of [cause]. Evidence attached [file]. Refunds in the last 90 days: [N] ([X]%). Disputes: [N] ([X]%).

What we've changed
- [e.g. Enabled 3D Secure for elevated-risk payments on DATE]
- [e.g. Changed our statement descriptor from "HZN LLC" to "SHIPPED.COM" on DATE]
- [e.g. Added in-app cancellation and renewal reminders on DATE]

We will reply within 24 hours to any further request.

[NAME], [ROLE], [BUSINESS_NAME]
[PHONE], [EMAIL]
```

**Rules for this message:** facts, numbers, dates. No anger, no threats, no "I've been a loyal customer for years". Admit what went wrong if something did, and show the fix. Reviewers respond to evidence of control, not to pressure.

## Hour 24–48: Follow up once, then reduce risk

- [ ] **Follow up once** if there's no reply after 24 hours on a business day: "Following up on our response from [DATE]; all requested documents are attached. Happy to provide anything else." Then wait.
- [ ] **Refund anything clearly problematic**: open refund requests, obvious fraud, orders you can't deliver. Every refund is a dispute you don't get.
- [ ] **Answer every open dispute** before its deadline. Use `templates/dispute-responses/` or the Claude skill.
- [ ] **Lower your risk profile for the next 30 days**: no big launches, no new ad channels, no new countries, no affiliate pushes.
- [ ] **If your account was closed (D):** submit an appeal through the Dashboard with the evidence pack. Stripe's policy says appeals get a manual review and you can appeal more than once. Then plan cash flow assuming funds stay held for up to 120 days ([Unacceptable Risk Policy](https://stripe.com/legal/unacceptable-risk-policy)).
- [ ] **Card data:** if you're leaving Stripe, it can transfer saved card data to another PCI DSS Level 1 processor. It doesn't transfer subscriptions or history as objects, and cards saved with Link aren't included ([Stripe: payment data export](https://docs.stripe.com/get-started/data-migrations/pan-export)). Keep your Stripe account open (don't delete it) so you can still access your data.

## After 48 hours: the long tail

| Situation | What to expect | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve | A set period, then a credit review. Stripe may remove, lower, or extend it. "In some rare cases, a reserve may be required indefinitely." | Keep disputes low and refunds fast during the period. Ask for a review near the end with your new numbers. |
| Info request | Often resolved once the documents match. | Answer any follow-up within 24 hours. |
| Risk restriction | Depends on Stripe's review. | Keep the backup live. Don't move the backup's volume back until you're cleared. |
| Closure | Funds typically held 120 days from the notice, minus refunds and disputes. | Appeal once with evidence. Answer every dispute in the meantime: lost disputes come out of the held balance. |

**The thing to avoid at all costs:** a MATCH or VMSS listing. These last 5 years and most processors automatically reject listed businesses and owners. Mastercard code 4 applies with chargebacks over 1% of monthly transactions *and* $5,000+ in the same month. Winning disputes later doesn't remove it ([Stripe: high-risk merchant lists](https://docs.stripe.com/disputes/match)). If your rate is high, cut it now: refund aggressively, stop the traffic source, add 3DS.

---

## Before it happens (do this in a calm week)

1. **Set up a backup rail** and run at least one real sale through it so it's live, not "applied for".
2. **Keep the evidence pack** as a folder, updated every quarter: registration, IDs, address proof, bank proof, policies screenshots, a product one-pager.
3. **Keep the logs** (checklist section E). They help in disputes and in reviews.
4. **Tell Stripe before launches.** A short note: what, when, expected volume, delivery method, refund policy.
5. **Keep a cash buffer** outside your payment account to cover 30 days of costs. A reserve shouldn't decide whether you can pay your hosting bill.
6. **Keep each business separate.** One account per business. Never process another person's sales under yours.

*Made by Dan Shipped — @danshipped. Not legal or financial advice.*