Stripe, Inc.

Stripe reached out to the complainant on [redacted] in order to get more information about their website after a large transaction was processed with no prior processing history. Stripe is legally required by the financial industry to complete what's called a KYC (Know Your...

Customer) survey for every account that's opened here at Stripe. This survey includes verifying several pieces of information, including each user's personal identity and their charge patterns. One thing Stripe has to verify specifically is whether or not a business fits within our Terms of Service, which requires us to look at websites, social media presences, and invoices.
Our banking partners require every one of our users to have some kind of web presence that we can manually review and use to verify that this user is acting within our Terms of Service. We need to be able to clearly see what our users are creating charges for and what kind of services they are offering. This is outlined in our Services Agreement under Validation and Underwriting -- https://stripe.com/us/legal. As the complainant's site did not clearly state what they were selling, we reached out to ask for a clear, itemized invoice that shows what kind of transactions they are doing through Stripe. 
The complainant provided the invoice as requested. The Stripe Supporter who was managing this case accidentally missed the attachment and requested a copy of the invoice again. At this point, the complainant began using foul language towards the Supporters attempting to help them, refunded their payments and deleted their account. The mistake of the previous Supporter was quickly caught and Stripe promptly apologized for the confusion. However, at this point, the complainant had already refunded the payments and closed their account so there was nothing further that Stripe could do. The last correspondence to the complainant wasn't responded to.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/06) */
Stripe uses a complex automated fraud detection algorithm that picks up on common indicators of fraudulent transactions and fraudulent businesses.
The complainant's business was identified by our fraud detection systems as a likely...

fraudulent business on October 30th, 10/30. As part of this process, we initially paused the transfer of funds. When the complainant contacted us on 10/30, we had already initiated an investigation. We then identified that a false positive had occurred.
On Nov 4th, 11/4, Stripe removed the fraudulent status from the customer's account and released the funds, which have since been deposited into the customer's bank account.
We have resolved the issue between the complainant and Stripe. If the complainant has any further questions for Stripe, they may contact us at [redacted]@stripe.com. We sent the following message to the complainant on November 6, 2015:
"Thanks for writing in and I sincerely apologise for the hassle here. As part of our desire to best protect our users, as well as our legal obligations, we have a lot of data points we use to detect potential fraud. As fraud patterns change, so to does our detection of it. While our systems are very, very good at this - it isn't 100% accurate and there are some cases where an account or charge can be flagged, incorrectly, as potentially fraudulent. We do review every Stripe account manually and always want to make sure we can work with as many users as possible.
On occasion, a legitimate charge can have all the signs of one that is potentially fraudulent, and it's these cases where sometimes a decision is taken that isn't the right one. I am very sorry for the trouble this caused and can assure you that your account has been fully enabled and you can continue using Stripe to process payments.
If there's anything else I can help with or if you'd like any more information, please let me know and I'd be happy to help."
False positives like this are rare, and Stripe takes them very seriously. Stripe is reviewing this case to determine what led to the first decision and how situations like this can be prevented moving forward. In the meantime, we offer our apologies and invite the user to let us know what if any additional remediation steps they'd like us to take.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/11/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/23) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms...

of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On April 20, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data. We're unable to discuss the status of a user's payments with anyone other than the account owner, so we will be contacting the user directly to discuss the state of his account and his payments.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
4 days have passed [redacted] I have yet to receive a single response from one of the 4 emails I sent to 4 different representatives in the company. I have called the only 888 number I could find for the company and have left a message. No call back.
Thank you so much for your Copy and Paste answer, but I still have no resolution to my plait.
I would like a definitive public answer of when the funds will be release or what will need ot be done to release said funds. All merchandise purchased with the funds have already been shipped and delivered. With confirmation for each.
No reason was given in the termination. No formal contact info. No response.
"We're unable to discuss the status of a user's payments with anyone other than the account owner, so we will be contacting the user directly to discuss the state of his account and his payments" - When? Next quarterly batch review?
I would like to say that Stripe has poor customer service. But to have poor customer service, IT HAS TO EXIST! STRIPE PAYMENTS HAS ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/04/28) */
On April 24th, 2015 we reached out to the complainant, informing them that we had refunded all charges that have not yet been transferred to their bank account and that they would need to make alternative arrangements with their customers to receive those funds.
As stated previously, our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I have a pile of emails from Stripe with excuse after excuse as to why they aren't returning my money. I have copies of them. They are still holding my money even though they say that they have attempted to return it all to me. Not truthful at all. They do not have access to my bank account any longer. They initially withdrew $[redacted] from my account. They had tacked on an extra fee to the payment that was made to me by my customer. They are not truthful. Oh yes, they want access to my account  so they can take out more money from me. I have told them to repay me via Pay Pal, but they refuse to do that. Every excuse possible is used for whatever suits them. I have had four months of aggravation with Stripe. They keep making statements that aren't true either. I have the emails from them so I have proof of their deceitful dealings. The so called second dispute was even questioned by one of their own. He indicated that there was an error of sorts in the transmission of the payment and he didn't know how to handle that. I have that email also. All I want is MY money and they continue to hold it and pretend that they are ready to refund it to me. Not true.Sincerely,[redacted]

We are open to continuing to work with the complainant through our official channels. Our last message to the complainant was [redacted], and we have not yet received a response.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by Vlad Sultanov (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on March 19, 2018.Stripe OverviewAs background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or through a mobile device, to...

quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission. Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface. Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at https://stripe.com/us/legal.[redacted]Merchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on January 9, 2017 under the name "PCDestination llc" at[redacted]. Stripe processed payments for the account owner until February 24, 2018. During a routine review, Stripe determined that the complainant's business had a high level of disputes and was at risk for incurring more disputes. On February 19, 2018, Stripe contacted the Complainant, informing them that their dispute rate was over industry standard, at 1.1%; we are unable to accept payments for businesses we determine to be at high risk for a dispute rate of over 1%, as mentioned here: "High chargeback rates (typically those exceeding 1%) may result in your inability to use the Payment Services. Failure to timely and effectively manage Disputes with your Customers may ultimately result in your inability to accept payment cards for your business."[redacted]Since then, their dispute rate has grown to 1.26%. As these chargebacks accumulated, pursuant to the Complaint's agreement with Stripe and as described in further detail below, Stripe debited these funds from the Complainant. Specifically, as further described below, we debited the amount that was charged back and a fee of $15 for each chargeback that we processed.Reserve TermsIn order to mitigate future losses to Stripe as a result of chargebacks on the Complainant's account, a reserve was set in place that will last for 90 days. Funds will be transferred to the complainant's bank account on May 20, 2018. This is in accordance to Stripe's Terms of Service:"We may impose a Reserve on you for any reason if we determine that the risk of loss to Stripe, Customers, or others associated with your Stripe Account is higher than normal. For example, we may hold a Reserve if: (i) your or your Customers’ activities increase the risk of loss to us or to your Customers, (ii) you have violated or are likely to violate this Agreement, and (iii) your Stripe Account has an elevated or abnormally high number of Disputes."[redacted]While there is a reserve in place, the Complainant is able to log into their Stripe dashboard, process refunds to the customer's whose funds are held and reprocess these funds with a different processor if they need immediate access to the funds.For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/19) */
We evaluate an account's risk on a case by case basis, though we're unfortunately unable to publicly disclose the details of our evaluation, for the sake of the user's privacy, and Stripe's security. During evaluation, we assessed this...

account to be especially at risk for chargebacks. Chargebacks are strongly regulated across the industry by the card brands, and chargeback risks call for immediate action.
We have however reevaluated this account and have misjudged their chargeback risk. We've released this customer's funds from both of his accounts, and he should receive his transfers on November 21st, 2014 and November 25th, 2014. We apologize to this customer, we work very hard to make sure that false positives don't happen, but once in a while they do, and when we discover one we work hard to make it right, and are happy to agree to this customer's desired resolution.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/11/20) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Stripe "misjudged" or company's risk? No customer from our company filed a chargeback, we are real business with real transaction and we expect a real commitment of our partners where payment gateways are included. We need to trust in our partners... It looks that Stripe released the funds, OK, but it seems BLOCKED our account to NEW transactions. As we don't received any message from STRIPE, I need an official and ultimate position: YOUR ACCOUNT IS CLOSED?
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/12/01) */
After carefully re-evaluating this account we do recognize that our fraud system did unfortunately flag this account as a false positive. While it is unfortunately not possible to reopen a closed account, the user is absolutely welcome to open a new account with us and continue service with Stripe.
Our team recognizes the inconvenience experienced by the user, and we do apologize for this. While incidents such as this are indeed rare, we do acknowledge when they happen and definitely are happy to work with this user going forward.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/26) */
On August 18th, a refund was processed from the complainant's Squarespace account for a charge made on September 9, 2014 for $156.75. On August 24th, the complainant contacted Stripe, stating that approximately $150 had been taken from...

their bank account without their consent. Upon further inquiry, the complainant stated they had "emptied the purchase from their squarespace site" the day the refund was executed, but had not meant to trigger a refund from the account, and requested that Stripe "nullify the transaction". As the refund had already been successfully processed via the complainant's Squarespace account, we informed the complainant that they would need to contact that customer for reauthorization to charge their card; Stripe can not reverse refunds. Complainant responded, stating that the refund "did not go through" and requesting it be returned to their account; Stripe responded in turn by sending the complainant the details of the successful refund, including a reference number. Since then, Stripe has not received additional correspondence from the complainant.
Stripe would like to note that all actions taken to recover the funds thus far are in line with Stripe's Terms of Service agreement, specifically in regards to the rules regarding refunds and returns, which can be found here: https://stripe.com/us/terms#refunds-and-returns
Of specific note is the following:
"You will use best efforts to process all refunds within sixty (60) days after the original transaction date, and you acknowledge that refunds processed after that time may not be capable of being processed.
For processed refunds, Stripe will deduct the refund amount (including any applicable Fees) from (i) settlement funds owed to you from processing of other card transactions, or (ii) funds in any Reserve Account. If these funds are not sufficient, you authorize Stripe to initiate an ACH debit entry to your Bank Account in the amount necessary to complete the refund transaction to the cardholder's card. In the event Stripe cannot access your Bank Account by means of ACH debit, you agree to pay all funds owed to Stripe upon demand. You are solely responsible for accepting and processing returns of your products and services; Stripe has no responsibility or obligation for processing such returns."
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am the client, and I am the one who mistakenly deleted the payment because I thought it was old.
Why is there no recourse for communication on behalf of the client ie me?
This person I have to reprocess the order with is unreachable , and so how am I able to correct a human mistake on my part if you are so inflexible and do not undo that mistake?
!!!!!
[redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/09/10) */
Once a refund is made and has settled, there is no way Stripe can cancel or reverse this refund. Although this is a human error, unfortunately, there is no way Stripe can undo this mistake.
We followed up with the complainant today, and provided a Dashboard link to the refunded charge in question. This link also contains the email address connected to their customer. The complainant may use this email address to contact the purchaser and ask to recharge their card to undo this mistake.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/05) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of...

Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On 13th March 2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/08) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
After reading SEVERAL complaints by other unsatisfied customers, this appears to be a cut and paste normal response from Stripe for the myriad of people who have had to deal with this issue. I had to refund the $1550.00 back to my client and ask him for a check. I received the payment from my client this way because it WAS AUTHORIZED just like the credit card transaction was AUTHORIZED!!!!! Stripe's so called "model" to determine unauthorized charges is severely flawed and has cost me a good client because now he no longer wants to do business with me because of all the hassle. Furthermore, Stripe STILL has failed to address the issue of the $59.42 that was STOLEN out of my account from them without authorization. I DEMAND that the payment be mailed to me immediately or I will file a formal complaint with the California Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Bureau, and Federal Trade Commission.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by Brendan Doherty (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on April 3, 2018.Stripe OverviewAs background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or through a mobile device, to...

quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission. Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface. Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at[redacted].[1] [redacted]Merchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on May 9, 2017 under the name "Brendan's Travels" [redacted]. Stripe processed payments for the account owner until April 4, 2018 when their ability to create payments will be turned off. During a routine review, Stripe determined that the complainant's business was at a high risk for disputes. On March 27, 2018, Stripe contacted the Complainant to get more information. After reviewing this information, Stripe reached out on March 30, 2018, informing them that we would no longer be able to support their business as we are unable to accept payments for businesses we determine to be at high risk for a dispute rate of over 1%, as mentioned here: "High chargeback rates (typically those exceeding 1%) may result in your inability to use the Payment Services. Failure to timely and effectively manage Disputes with your Customers may ultimately result in your inability to accept payment cards for your business."[redacted]Reserve TermsThe closing of this account was in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service:"may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason"[redacted]In order to mitigate future losses to Stripe as a result of chargebacks on the Complainant's account, a reserve was set in place that will last for 90 days. Funds will be transferred to the complainant's bank account on June 28, 2018. This is in accordance to Stripe's Terms of Service:"We may impose a Reserve on you for any reason if we determine that the risk of loss to Stripe, Customers, or others associated with your Stripe Account is higher than normal. For example, we may hold a Reserve if: (i) your or your Customers’ activities increase the risk of loss to us or to your Customers, (ii) you have violated or are likely to violate this Agreement, and (iii) your Stripe Account has an elevated or abnormally high number of Disputes."[redacted]For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:I am confused as to how it could change, I had laid everything out for stripe before processing with them. Nothing had changed since the initial look into the business. How can a company knowingly put people's lively-hood and companies in jeopardy. I will be contacting the FTC for the blatant abuse that Stripe has commited. Sincerely,[redacted]

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on June 19, [redacted].
On June 11, [redacted], the Complainant was notified via email that they would no longer be able to accept payments using Stripe. They were given the opportunity to have their account rereviewed. They provided additional information. When Stripe reviewed this additional information, it was determined that it was still unable to support the Complainant. On June 11, [redacted], the Complainant was also informed that the charge on their account appeared to be unauthorized and, as a result, was being refunded.
For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/10) */
Stripe processes card payments online for thousands of merchants. The complainant signed up for a service with a merchant who processes payments on Stripe. Sometimes, "Stripe" will appear on customers' credit card statements briefly, and then be...

replaced by the name of the merchant the customer made the purchase from. Stripe has been working with card networks to resolve this issue, so that the appropriate merchant's information appears at the time of the charge. The complainant does not have a Stripe account and has not used Stripe's services directly.
On November 9th, the complainant wrote to Stripe's support team to provide information about charges on an American Express card. We were able to find the name of the merchant who was charging the complainant's card. We responded later that day informing the complainant that the charges were from a service called RankTracker. We also included RankTracker's contact email so the complainant could contact them directly. Stripe sent two response emails to the complainant, both of which are included here, and neither of which include profanity:
"Hi [redacted],
Thanks for writing in!
I'm sorry to hear that you're seeing an unrecognized charge showing up on your card. It seems you recently made a purchase on a website that uses Stripe to process their payments. Stripe processes payments for thousands of websites and businesses.
Sometimes "Stripe" (or a variation thereof) will appear on credit card statements instead of the name of the website or business that you made the purchase on. This is especially a problem with American Express and is something we're working on fixing.
The actual business's name should appear on your statement within a few days.
If you'd rather not wait, and you don't recognize the amount, I could research who the business was and let you know. At very least, this will help stop these charges at their source, since it sounds like it's a recurring problem.
To do that, I'd need a bit more information:
- The exact amount and date of the charge
- Last four digits of the credit card number (not the whole number)
- Card's expiration month and year
I hope to hear back from you."
"Hey there,
Thanks for reaching out regarding these charges. I've done a bit of digging, and it appears that all of these charges have come from a service called RankTracker.
You can find their website here:
www.ranktracker.com
As well as email them at [redacted]@ranktracker.com for billing reasons.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you need any more info! "
Our users are responsible for customer service for their business, so we direct customers who contact Stripe to them for inquiries about refunds. Outside of certain cases where there was fraudulent activity on a card, we do not issue refunds on behalf of our users.
We apologize for the confusion caused by Stripe's information showing up on the complainant's card statement. Looking at the three charges mentioned, it looks like two are currently being disputed by the complainant (charges from September 3rd and November 3rd), and the one from October 3rd was refunded by RankTracker. We recommend that the complainant continue dealing with American Express to resolve this issue.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/11/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 9, 2015/08/26) */
Issue was resolved. It took a while but they did fix everything.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by Kory Lloyd (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on April 12, 2018.Stripe OverviewAs background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or through a mobile device, to...

quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission. Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface. Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at [redacted].[1][redacted]Merchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on March 21, 2018 under the name "Kory[redacted]" at [redacted] . Stripe processed payments for the account owner until April 2, 2018. During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the Complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Specifically, Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. The majority of the Complainant’s business seemed to be driven through unauthorized, fraudulent charges. On April 2, 2018, Stripe reached to the Complainant to let them know about its concerns and that it could no longer support their business. After a thorough investigation, Stripe closed the Complainant's account.The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe's terms very clearly state that Stripe"may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason" [redacted]All remaining funds have been paid out to the Complainant as of April 9, 2018.While Stripe is not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the Complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data. For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

As of [redacted] 5, [redacted] the charges on the complainant's account have been refunded. The card holders will see the funds posted to their card balances within the next ten days. The complainant is welcome to email us at [email protected] with any additional questions.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/20) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of...

Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On December 5th, 2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Stripe is keeping my money with no way to get it back or refund the buyer, even if they have the right to close my account they are not allowed to steal money.
I can not accept This solution unless they release my money.
This is the worst company I've ever came across, they don't care for their customers at all, a financial company that doesn't provide phone Support is a joke, my customer paid me via Zoho (an online invoicing software)but stripe just says that it appears to be unauthorized, and they wouldn't answer my emails regarding this and don't provide phone Support.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/05) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On 12/05/2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
The pausing of transfers of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms state that we "reserve the right to change the Payout Schedule, suspend payouts to your Bank Account, or initiate a Reversal should we determine it is necessary due to pending disputes, excessive or anticipated excessive Chargebacks or Refunds, or other suspicious activity associated with your use of Stripe Payments".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#payout-schedule
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/05) */
On October 21st, we reached out to the complainant requesting information to complete their identity verification. Stripe must verify all of our user's identities to stay in compliance with KYC, or Know Your Customer, regulations. The...

e-mail address that the complainant originally provided was incorrect, and we needed the additional info to finish the verification process. We allow our users to start processing before verification is complete, but will ask for more data or clarification in some cases. The user followed up with this information promptly as requested and we verified the user on October 23rd.
The complainant responded again on October 28th to inform us that their transfers were still not working properly. We followed up on October 29th to let them know that their transfers were still disabled because the website url they provided us was invalid. We asked the user to send over a valid url, which they did promptly on October 29th. Initially, there were some issues viewing the website they provided. However, we continued attempting to follow the links they provided and were able to get them working on November 2nd. We responded on November 2nd to let the complainant know that we were reviewing the details they provided.
At the moment, we're still reviewing the account's integration before reenabling transfers, but we hope to reach a resolution to this matter as quickly as possible.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept this response. It is redundant and unacceptable. First of all, my email address has never been incorrect. You have been able to email me since day 1 without issue, so that is just absolutely false. The only issue was the my website URL that was originally set when I opened my Stripe account was changes, but just as you mentioned, I immediately provided you with the correct URL once I noticed the mistake.
There is so much miscommunication amongst Stripe's representatives. No one seems to be on the same page. Now all of a sudden (on 11/6) I receive a message from you stating that: 'your transfers on hold for now while we discuss the future of your account's integration.' This is just unacceptable; I have already sent a long detailed message to another representative outlining my Stripe integration that had already been completed. You are providing generic responses that do not have much relation in regards to the current status of my account. In a message to Emerson on 10/29, I stated:
'...with my experience using Stripe, it integrates perfectly with my website, which uses an Ecwid (www.ecwid.com) shopping cart platform that works seamlessly with Stripe. I have my Ecwid store now connected to my Stripe account, so that I can now introduce your credit card payment feature into my website.' I discussed this topic in other messages as well.
If you go to my website: www.[redacted], you will see where Stripe is now integrated into my Ecwid store to accept live credit card transactions. This had already been put in motion and we are well beyond this topic and it has already been discussed. Instead of moving forward, we are moving backward. I am speaking to many different representatives and it is apparent that each representative has little to no knowledge of conversations discussed with previous representatives. You recent response is clearly indicative of this because this bridge has already been crossed in previous conversations. Especially when you state: "We look forward to hearing back from you regarding your plans for integrating your account." These plans have been discussed and you can clearly see the results reflected on my website with Stripe now listed as an option to use for payment. The website integration simply speaks for itself.
Therefore, at this point, here are the questions that I kindly would like answered please.
1. Why are we moving backwards on topics that were discussed already?
2. Is there a log that representatives can see, so that they are up to speed with the status of account issues based on previous conversations?
3. Why is my transfer being placed on hold after I thoroughly verified my account, which was approved?
4. When will I be receiving my 1st transfer?
5. Which representative can actually help me? Everyone seems to be telling me different things and this is running the entire process in circles. I have a business to run and this is just becoming more of a hassle than a convenience. Who do I actually listen to?
6. Simply saying my account is on hold, is not enough. How long for? I need much more detail than two or three sentence responses. All of my messages are several pages long, while I receive short generic response from you. What is the wait time and how much longer is needed? I need more accurate dates. This is very unprofessional.
In your response, you also state: 'At the moment, we're still reviewing the account's integration before reenabling transfers, but we hope to reach a resolution to this matter as quickly as possible.' The account has already been integrated, so what more is there to review. I can understand if the migration was still in motion, but your payment processor has already been successfully integrated into my website and functions successfully.
I would like to resolve this issue as soon as possible. This is making it extremely difficult for me to trust using your services moving forward. I do not appreciate the cat and mouse games that I have been faced with since dealing with your company. I have never had such a hard time with any payment processor that I have used before. The customer service is realistically what has made this process drag out and I am beginning to feel as though this is being done purposely so that you can continue to 'hold' onto my funds even though there is no reason for you to do so. I would appreciate a legitimate response as well as resolve. I do not accept this response because it is not accurate and it's deceptive. This situation is now dragging out much further than it needs to. Thanks in advance for your response.
Regards,
~[redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/11/22) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified signals that the complainant's account was potentially in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. While we were investigating further, we paused transfers out of the complainant's account until November 10 as a precaution.
The pausing of transfers of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms state that we "reserve the right to change the Payout Schedule, suspend payouts to your Bank Account, or initiate a Reversal should we determine it is necessary due to pending disputes, excessive or anticipated excessive Chargebacks or Refunds, or other suspicious activity associated with your use of Stripe Payments".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#payout-schedule
On November 10, we determined that we had made a mistake and had mis-identified activity on the account as fraudulent. We then re-enabled the complainant's transfers. All of the above actions are well within our Terms of Service. However, we understand waiting on this verification process can be very stressful and we take these problems seriously. We aim to resolve similar issues much more quickly in the future.
On November 12, the complainant's Stripe balance of $2,508.35 transferred to her bank account. This represented the $4,081.07 amount Stripe had been holding, less $1,572.72 (a total charge of $1,620 without subtracting Stripe fees) the complainant had refunded a customer on November 9.
On November 15, the complainant refunded two charges of $1,289.99 and $1,293.89 and changed the bank account linked to Stripe. Stripe immediately sent the refunds to these customers out of Stripe's bank account.
On November 17, Stripe attempted to debit the complainant's new bank account for $2,508.35 to cover the cost of the refunds to those customers, but the debit failed because the bank account number the complainant provided was invalid.
As of November 22, the balance on the complainant's Stripe account is -$2,508.35.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] [redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on July 5, [redacted].
Stripe Overview
As background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or...

through a mobile device, to quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission.
 
Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface. Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at https://stripe.com/us/legal.
[1] https://stripe.com/us/payments
Merchant Account Overview 
The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on October 21, [redacted] under the name "[redacted]" at[redacted]. Stripe processed payments for the account owner until June 26, [redacted]. During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the Complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Specifically, Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. The majority of the Complainant’s business seemed to be driven through unauthorized, fraudulent charges. On June 26, [redacted], Stripe reached to the Complainant to let them know about its concerns and that it could no longer support their business. Stripe asked for additional information from the Complainant in order to verify the legitimacy of the account. However, the Complainant never submitted the requested information. After a thorough investigation, Stripe closed the Complainant's account. The final transfer on the Complainant's account has been released.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe's terms very clearly state that Stripe
"may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason" https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While Stripe is not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the Complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data. For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by Julie[redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on March 23, 2018.Stripe OverviewAs background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or through a mobile device, to...

quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission. Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface. Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at[redacted][1[redacted]Merchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on April 21, 2017 under the name "Bayou City Speech & La" at [redacted]. The Complainant processed their first payment on March 19, 2018. First payouts take 7-10 days, as outlined on Stripe's support site:"Once you start processing with Stripe, your first payout is made 7-10 days after your first successful payment is received."[redacted]The Complainant deleted their account but Stripe support has worked with them to reenable it. The Complainant will receive their funds on March 26, 2018.For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.