Preparing for a call with your payment processor

A call with your payment processor usually means someone is reviewing your account: a new application, a change in volume, a run of disputes or refunds, or questions about what you sell. The best preparation is plain: know your own numbers and documents, describe the business exactly as it is, and do not promise anything you cannot show.

This checklist covers what to gather before the call, how to answer, what to avoid saying, and what to do afterwards. Reviews can also happen by email or through your dashboard, and the same preparation applies.

Why processors review accounts

Stripe's support pages say it reviews both new and existing accounts to protect businesses and their customers, and that it is required to do so to monitor credit risk and meet its financial partners' requirements. Signals it lists as raising risk include elevated disputes, a sharp rise in refunds, long gaps between payment and delivery, long billing periods and sharp increases in volume.

Stripe says most businesses keep processing as normal after a review. For some it may hold part of each transaction in reserve, and in rare cases it may close an account. You do not control which outcome you get. You do control whether your answers are accurate and complete. How payment processors review a merchant explains the process in more detail.

Facts to have in front of you

• Your legal details. Legal business name, registered address, the trading name customers see, and the domains you sell on. Stripe's support pages say details such as name, address and registration number on your documents should match the information on your account.
• What you sell, in plain words. Product categories, forms and specifications, described the same way your product pages describe them.
• Who buys from you. The types of business and research buyers you serve, and how you confirm a buyer fits that profile. If you refuse consumer orders, be ready to explain how.
• Volume. Typical monthly orders and amounts, average order value, and the reason for any recent change.
• Disputes and refunds. Recent counts, the main reasons, and what you changed in response. See reducing disputes.
• Fulfillment. Where you ship from, the carriers you use, where you ship to, and the usual time from payment to shipment.
• Policies. Links to your terms of sale, refund, shipping and privacy policies, and where each appears at checkout.

Documents to have ready

Stripe's support articles list the documents it typically asks for during a review. Depending on your business and location, they include:

• Itemized customer invoices, with each item on its own line.
• Recent business bank statements, or statements from a previous payment processor.
• For physical products, photos of your inventory and supplier purchase orders or shipment tracking numbers.
• A business or tax registration certificate, and for US businesses, IRS documents such as an EIN verification letter.

Stripe asks that documents be clear enough to read, current, and consistent with your account details. Have them as PDFs before the call so you can send them the same day if asked.

Check your website before the call

A reviewer may have your site open while you talk. Stripe's website checklist covers what it expects to find, including a clear description of what you sell, customer service contact details, refund, shipping and return policies, and the terms of any promotions. Go through it, then check that nothing on the site contradicts what you will say about your buyers and products. Preparing your storefront for a processor review has a fuller pass.

How to answer

• Answer the question asked. Short, specific answers are easier to record accurately than long ones.
• Do not guess. If you are unsure of a number or a date, say you will check and follow up in writing.
• Describe the business as it is. Include the parts you think a reviewer may question. An omission discovered later does more harm than a difficult answer now.
• Use consistent language. Describe products and buyers the way your website and application do. If they differ, fix the inconsistency rather than explaining it away.
• Ask when you are unsure. If you do not know whether part of your catalog is supported, ask, and accept the answer.

What not to promise

• Outcomes you do not control. Do not promise a dispute rate, refund rate or volume you cannot guarantee.
• Changes you have not planned. If a page needs fixing, it is better to fix it and confirm than to promise a date you may miss.
• Controls you do not have. Describe your buyer checks and reviews exactly. A self-declaration is not verification, and should not be described as verification.
• Workarounds. Do not offer to rename products, move them to another site or process them through another account or business to get past a concern. If the processor will not support part of your business, the honest options are to stop selling it or to work with a provider that supports it openly.

During the call

• Note the date, the names of the people you spoke to, each question and your answer.
• Ask exactly which documents they need, in what format, through which channel and by when.
• Repeat back anything you agreed to do, so both sides have the same understanding.

After the call

• Send a short written summary of what was asked and what you will provide.
• Upload documents through the channel requested. Stripe's support pages say supporting documents are uploaded through the Dashboard, and ask that you send them promptly to avoid delays.
• If you cannot provide something, say so early. Stripe asks businesses to reach out as soon as possible in that case.
• Keep a copy of everything you sent, with the date. Responding to a processor information request covers written follow-ups.

What preparation cannot do

Preparation makes a call clearer and your answers more accurate. It does not decide the result. Stripe and the card networks make their own decisions about which businesses they support and on what terms.

If you use Claddr, a date-range export gives you a PDF summary of the controls in force, such as your compliance profile, gate settings and statement versions, plus a CSV of every recorded entry. That describes your controls. It does not vouch for your business, and it is not a substitute for answering the reviewer's questions directly. See exporting compliance evidence for a review.