After termination of your Stripe account, Stripe may continue to hold funds for up to 120 days following such termination to cover potential chargebacks, refunds, reversals, fees, fines, penalties, or other amounts that may become due. Stripe will release any remaining funds after the expiration of this period, less any amounts owed to Stripe.
A 120-day post-termination hold is longer than the 60-90 day standard in many merchant acquiring agreements and can leave a business without access to significant revenue for four months after losing payment processing access.
Merchants using Stripe are subject to unilateral fund reserves and payout holds that can be imposed at Stripe's discretion, potentially cutting off access to revenue without advance notice. Stripe can terminate the agreement and continue holding funds for up to 120 days post-termination to cover potential chargebacks or disputes, creating significant cash flow risk for small businesses. You can review Stripe's Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list at stripe.com/restricted-businesses before signing up to assess whether your business type is subject to elevated scrutiny or termination risk.