For those who don’t know, Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform. It enables businesses to accept payment both in person and online. It also provides services and tools to help manage payments. It often works great, but sometimes, a company or individual trying to use it might see their account get blocked or restricted. Stripe powers transactions for a wide range of businesses around the globe, so encountering a hold can be surprising and disruptive for your operations.

For instance, maybe you have a sweepstakes merchant account. You’re running a sweepstakes or promotional contest. The participants who enter can win prizes through a random drawing. You want to use Stripe, but the platform puts a hold or restriction on your account. You might feel at a loss in that situation, but there are actions you can take. Let’s talk about some of those now.

Look at Your Stripe Dashboard

Your Stripe dashboard is where you get notifications. If you got blocked or restricted, this is where you might first hear about it. You can look at what the notification says to get an idea of what could be happening. Sometimes the dashboard will also include a brief note about whether it’s a temporary review or a more serious compliance issue. It’s important to review any alerts or messages there promptly, as they often provide initial guidance on next steps.

Contact the Stripe Support Team

Whenever your account gets blocked or restricted by Stripe, you’ll want to reach out and speak to the customer support staff. They are usually friendly and accommodating. If the platform didn’t already make clear why they took this action, you will want to get an explanation so you can know what to do next. Stripe offers support via email and chat depending on your region, so be sure to use the appropriate contact channel. When you reach out, describe your situation clearly and be prepared to provide your account details, so they can investigate efficiently.

Provide Documentation

If your account was blocked or restricted, it’s possible that was because you didn’t provide the necessary documentation having to do with your company or business. If the Stripe help desk wants you to provide documents, then you will need to produce them, scan them, and make sure the platform gets them. Common requests may include a government-issued ID for an individual owner, business registration certificates, or proof of address. Providing these as high-resolution scans or PDFs can help speed up the review process, since blurry or incomplete files often cause further delays.

You Can Appeal the Decision

The other thing you might do is to appeal the decision. Keep in mind that Stripe can be reluctant to do business with certain kinds of companies. If you’re running a business that Stripe feels leery of, you might still be able to convince them that you’re a legit entity. When appealing, prepare a concise statement that outlines why your business is low-risk or compliant with Stripe’s policies. If there were misunderstandings—such as an unexpected pattern of chargebacks or a miscategorized transaction—explain them clearly so the reviewer can reevaluate in context.

Follow Instructions They Give You

If Stripe is willing to potentially reinstate your account, and they want you to follow specific steps in order to facilitate that, then make sure you do everything that they say. The sooner you follow their instructions and fix the issue, the sooner you can get your account up and running again. Actions might include updating your privacy policy, revising your product descriptions, or adjusting how you handle refunds. Completing these tasks promptly—often within a set deadline—helps demonstrate your commitment to compliance and may speed up reapproval.

What if Stripe Won’t Reinstate Your Account?

Stripe is usually willing to listen to reason. However, if they feel that your business or company isn’t something they want to associate with, there might not be a way around it. In some cases, the risk profile remains too high, and no amount of clarification will change their stance.

You always have other options, though. If Stripe won’t do business with you, then you might look into some of the other payment platforms that are out there. One of them may be willing to let you create an account with them. Alternatives include PayPal, Square, Authorize.Net, and various regional providers that may have more flexible onboarding for promotional or sweepstakes-based businesses.

You can also see whether there are any legal options worth pursuing. However, most companies that can’t come to terms with Stripe find it reasonable to locate an alternative. Consulting a payments attorney or compliance specialist can help you understand whether there are grounds to challenge a denial through arbitration or regulatory bodies, but those paths tend to be time-consuming and costly. Ultimately, switching to a new payment processor and updating your integration often provides the quickest path forward so you can continue collecting payments without extended downtime.