Stripe is holding over $200k of mine with no explanation

[RE88]

Posted this before and didn't have anyone comment, hoping someone sees this and can assist.

Stripe is holding over $200,000 in deposits on my account and I have spent hours trying to get a hold of someone higher up to release the funds. If I don't receive a large portion of the funds back by next week, I will not be able to make payroll for the employees and contractors that work for me and they will not be able to feed their families and pay rent. I've tried numerous emails and contacts at Stripe but NO ONE has been responsive or willing to let me speak to someone higher up who has the authority to release the funds. This is criminal as my business will have to shut down unless I receive a large portion of those funds, asap.

[mvdtnz]

Ah another one of these posts where OP is deliberately vague about what their business does and why it may violate a payment processor's terms of service. I wonder what they do and how cryptocurrency is involved.

[edwinwee]

(I work at Stripe and don’t want to publicly provide specifics for privacy reasons, but, yes, we’ve been in touch with OP already about their business model. If we assess customers are requesting refunds and filing disputes, funds are reserved so that all customers can receive refunds in a timely manner.)

[RE88]

I can assure no cryptocurrency is involved and no violation have occurred.

In fact, we have a reputable business and this incident should never have occurred in the first place and I’m doing my best to rectify it

[AlexITC]

Let's see whether hn works again as the support channel for Stripe just like it did yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36403607

Good luck.

[jameslk]

It's hard for anyone to help without knowing much about your circumstance. What you've said so far seems too vague for even Stripe employees to look up your account. What industry are you serving? How are they holding your money (i.e. what's preventing it from being transferred when you try)? What reasons have they given?

[ajhurliman]

It seems insane that money transmitters have so little oversight, it’s pretty much conventional wisdom at this point: “their API is nice, but you’re playing Russian roulette with your money by using them”

[drekipus]

What's the alternative? I'm building an app and I'm just about to connect up stripe.

I don't want to play the roulette

[max_]

This is why businesses need to transition to stable coins as a means to sell their services.

[bennettnate5]

... You're joking, right?

[spacebanana7]

Mullvad’s approach of mailing cash also seems pretty attractive.

[kojeovo]

Is your business criminal?