Stripe closed your account? Day one of a 120-day file.Stripe closed your account? Day one of a 120-day file.

Everyone: what Stripe’s Unacceptable Risk Policy says

• The email is the start date. Stripe notifies you by email and may include the category of reason, the actions applied, any deadlines, how to appeal, and information about the formal review at the end of the 120-day period (Unacceptable Risk Policy, last updated 29 July 2026).
• Payouts are typically paused for 120 days “from the date the User receives the initial email”. During that time the balance covers refunds, disputes and chargebacks, so Stripe warns the balance can reach zero.
• Appeal from the Dashboard. Where an appeal is offered, it is “typically” submitted through the Stripe Dashboard with additional information; a manual review follows and the result comes by email. If the first appeal fails you “may have the opportunity to make another appeal”.
• After 120 days, a formal review decides the remaining balance. Stripe lists three possible outcomes: release all or part of it, keep holding all or part pending further review, or cancel the payout if the risk “will continue (or where Stripe is obliged to do so under law)”. Stripe says it keeps held funds separate from its own funds, except where the law or its terms require or permit otherwise.
• Put the date of that first email into the deadline calculator and save every message and upload in the evidence log.

What the contract allows

The Stripe Services Agreement (“Last modified: September 28, 2026”) is the contract behind the policy. If the two conflict, the agreement wins (SSA; policy note).

• Stripe may suspend immediately for eight listed reasons, including a reasonable belief that you present “an unacceptable risk to Stripe”, a rising fraud rate, or not promptly providing information Stripe asked for (§10.1).
• Termination for cause after a material breach comes with a 10-day cure period “if capable of cure”, but some events allow immediate termination (§10.1).

EU / EEA: complain, then the Irish ombudsman

• Complain in writing via Stripe’s complaint form or complaints@stripe.com. Stripe says it acknowledges within 5 business days, gives a written final response in most cases within 15 business days, and in exceptional cases within 35 business days.
• Escalate. For regulated financial services from Stripe Technology Europe Limited, Stripe says you can refer the complaint to Ireland’s Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman “within 6 years of the date of the conduct complained of” (Stripe complaints page). Check the FSPO’s own rules on which businesses it can help.
• Contract terms: Irish law; arbitration in Dublin under the ICC Rules; courts of Ireland for claims that cannot be arbitrated; and the class-action waiver does not apply (SSA §13, EEA).
• Payment services fall outside the P2B Regulation (recital 11, Art. 1(3)), so its 30-day notice rule for platforms doesn’t apply. A GDPR access request still lets you ask for your data and about automated decisions.

UK: complain, then the Financial Ombudsman

For regulated financial services from Stripe Payments UK Limited, Stripe says you can refer an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service “free of charge within 6 months of our final response” (Stripe complaints page). The contract uses English law, ICC arbitration seated in London and the courts of England for claims that cannot be arbitrated (SSA §13, UK). A UK GDPR access request runs alongside.

United States: notice first, then AAA arbitration

• Notice of dispute. Before arbitration you must email a written notice to notices@stripe.com with your name, email, mailing address and Stripe account ID, the facts and legal basis, and the relief you want. If it is not resolved within 30 days of the notice, either side may start arbitration (SSA §11.4).
• Where: California law; arbitration in San Francisco under the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules; a class waiver; and for claims that cannot be arbitrated, the federal courts for the Northern District of California and state courts in San Mateo County (SSA §13, US).
• No small-claims carve-out: unlike PayPal’s, the agreement’s arbitration clause has no small-claims exception that we could find; only IP claims are carved out.

The letter kit helps you write a dated, factual notice you can adapt.

Whatever your region: keep a dated record

The 120-day review, an appeal, an ombudsman and an arbitrator all ask what happened and when. Three free tools keep that in one place, in your browser only:

• Open the evidence log
• Work out your deadlines
• Write a data request

Other platforms: all guides, including PayPal account limited.