This analysis describes what Shopify's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
A failed payment can result in complete loss of account access, which would interrupt store operations for any merchant who relies on Shopify's services.
Interpretive note: The clause uses 'may', making suspension discretionary rather than mandatory. The canonical claim preserves this qualifier.
The updated terms clarify the legal identity of the Shopify entity you contract with and establish which courts have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve disputes, depending on your store's billing address. Previously, the terms specified exclusive jurisdiction by region (Ontario for US/Canada, Singapore for Asia Pacific, Ireland for EMEA and other areas). The revised structure presents this information in a table format and adds explicit language stating that disputes can only be brought in the courts listed for your region, with those courts having exclusive jurisdiction. Shopify Inc. may act as a billing agent for other Shopify entities to collect fees and remit taxes in some jurisdictions. You can review the contracting party and forum table in Section 13 to confirm which entity and courts apply to your store based on your billing address.
View change record →If a payment method fails and goes unresolved for 28 days, merchants risk losing access to both their account and the services.
How other platforms handle this
If any subscription fee is not paid in a timely manner or your transaction cannot be processed, we reserve the right to suspend, disable, cancel, or terminate your access to the Services or your DashPass subscription.
If a Seller refuses to accept delivery of a package returned to their address on file, StockX may deem the property abandoned after thirty (30) days and may charge the applicable user for reasonable expenses incurred due to such refusal to accept delivery.
If we learn that we've collected the personal data of a child under the age of 13 or 16, as applicable, we'll take reasonable steps to delete the personal data. This may require us to delete the Skillshare account...
"If we are unable to successfully process payment of Fees using an Authorized Payment Method within 28 days of our initial attempt, we may suspend and revoke access to your Account and the Services.Excerpt from Shopify's Terms of Service
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A failed payment can result in complete loss of account access, which would interrupt store operations for any merchant who relies on Shopify's services.
If a payment method fails and goes unresolved for 28 days, merchants risk losing access to both their account and the services.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 277 platforms. See the full comparison.
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