Payments · Guide11 min readUpdated November 3, 2026

Shopify Payments Reserve: How Long It Lasts and How to Get It Released

How a Shopify Payments reserve works: fixed or percentage, why Shopify applied it, the 10% dispute reserve, how long it lasts and how to get it back.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 10 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

A Shopify Payments reserve holds part, sometimes all, of your sales for a set period to cover disputes and refunds. The email gives the terms; Shopify's own example is 10% for 120 days. Before the expiry date, Shopify reviews the account and can lift, keep, lower or raise it. You appeal by replying to that email in time.

Shopify defines a reserve as "a temporary hold on a portion, in some cases a full amount, of transactions" for a specified period; its examples are $1,000 or 10% held for 120 days.
Before expiry, "a risk assessment decides whether to lift, maintain, reduce, or increase the reserve".
A store with a dispute-inclusive chargeback rate of 1.5% or more over 90 days can be enrolled in a dispute program that comes with a 10% reserve.
That 10% reserve can lift early once the rate stays below 1.00% for 30 consecutive days.
Shopify's terms let it change a reserve "at any time, for any reason", and you earn no interest on reserved funds.

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On this page

This guide covers Shopify Payments only. For how reserves work at every processor, see rolling reserves: how they work. For every reason a Shopify payout can stop, see Shopify Payments payouts on hold. The rest of our Shopify guides are in the Shopify hub.

What a Shopify Payments reserve is

It's money Shopify keeps back from your payouts, not a fee. Shopify: "A reserve is a temporary hold on a portion, in some cases a full amount, of transactions processed through Shopify Payments for a specified period"1. It covers losses "such as chargebacks and refund volumes"1.

Three things to know while it runs:

You keep selling. "Reserves generally don't stop you from accepting payments through Shopify Payments, unless explicitly communicated otherwise"1.
Disputes come out of your account. When a customer opens a dispute, "the payment amount and any relevant dispute fees are deducted from your account"1.
What's left comes back. At the end of the period, the reserve funds no longer needed for refunds or disputes "are returned in full"1.

The terms arrive by email, to the store owner's address, along with notifications in your admin1 5.

Fixed amount or percentage: the two types

Shopify uses two kinds of reserve. Your email says which one applies, the amount or percentage, and the period1.

Type	How Shopify describes it	Shopify's example	What you receive meanwhile
Fixed amount	"setting aside a specific sum for a defined duration"	$1,000 held for 120 days	Everything above that sum1
Percentage-based	"Withholds a certain percentage of transactions for a specified period"	10% of each transaction held for 120 days from the reserve's start	The other 90%, in your regular payouts1

Fig. 1Two ways Shopify holds back your money

Fixed amount
One sum is set aside, for example $1,000. The rest of your sales pays out as usual.
Percentage
A share of every sale is held, for example 10%. It builds up until the expiry date.
Review before expiry
Shopify reviews the account and may lift, keep, lower or raise the reserve.

the email sets the amount and the expiry date

Based on Shopify Help Center, Overview of reserves in Shopify Payments, read November 3, 2026.

The amount is set from "the risk level associated with your business", focusing on losses from disputes or refunds "exceeding what you can manage based on your sales volume"1.

Why Shopify put a reserve on your account

A reserve follows a risk assessment. Shopify names five indicators, "including but not limited to"1:

Indicator Shopify gives	Example Shopify gives	What it usually looks like
Extended billing cycles	Annual subscriptions	Customers can dispute months after paying
Elevated chargeback activity	Unrecognized transactions, late delivery	Disputes rising after a new offer or traffic source
Increased refund rate	Damaged goods, sizing problems	Fulfillment or quality issues
Extended delivery timelines	Events, custom orders, pre-orders	Money taken long before delivery
Significant volume surges	Possible fraud, demand you can't serve	A launch Shopify didn't expect

Shopify's risk standards go beyond these. Its review also looks at product claims, subscription terms, reviews and fulfillment, and a store "might be acted on before you reach network-level limits"5.

The 10% reserve that comes with a dispute program

One Shopify reserve has a published trigger. Shopify says merchants "with an NDRP-inclusive chargeback rate of 1.5% or higher over the last 90 days can be automatically enrolled" in a network dispute resolution program, or NDRP3. Stores below a minimum order volume are excluded3.

With enrollment, "A 10% reserve is also applied to your Shopify Payments payouts which can be lifted early if you exit the program"3.

To exit, the 90-day rate "must drop below 1.00% and stay below 1.00% for 30 consecutive days" while you keep processing on Shopify Payments3. If the rate is still above 1% after the reserve's initial expiry date, Shopify may add "further reserves or payout holds"3.

Won disputes count. Shopify's chargeback rate "is based on the number of disputes filed, not the outcomes", and the NDRP-inclusive rate is the one that sets "reserve thresholds"4. Thresholds and the dispute program in detail: Shopify Payments chargeback thresholds.

How long a Shopify reserve lasts

Until the expiry date in your email, then a review decides. The date is not an automatic release.

Fig. 2The life of a Shopify Payments reserve

EmailType, amount, expiry date
Reserve periodShopify's example: 120 days
Risk reviewBefore the expiry date
OutcomeLifted, kept, lowered or raised
PayoutSeveral business days

the expiry date is a review date

Shopify Help Center, Overview of reserves in Shopify Payments, read November 3, 2026.

The review: "Before a reserve expires, your account is reviewed to determine whether to keep, reduce, or raise the reserve"1.
The release: if no extension is required, the reserve "is included in upcoming payouts", and it "might take several business days" to be processed1.
Early release: you may see "a bulk positive reserve transaction", offset on the original expiry date by matching negative entries1.

The terms leave Shopify more room than the help page. Shopify sets the terms "in our discretion" and "may elect to change the terms of a Reserve Account at any time, for any reason, based on your payment processing history or as requested by the Payment Processors"2. The 120 days in Shopify's examples are an example, not a rule.

Where to see the reserve in your admin

Go to Finance > Payouts. Your balance splits in two1:

Pending: captured funds not yet in a scheduled payout, reserve excluded.
Reserve: money "temporarily held and that can't be accessed until the reserve period ends".

Example

Shopify's own case. Pending shows $2,000 and Reserve shows $8,000: your total balance is $10,000, but only $2,000 can go out in the next payouts1.

Click Reserve to list the reserve transactions, and export them to CSV. In each payout, "Reserve funds" are negative lines and "Released funds" positive ones. After everything is released, filter View transactions by the Reserved Funds type1. Some lines, such as adjustments, early releases and fixed reserves, have no order attached1.

How the reserve is funded

Mostly from your sales, but not only. Under the Shopify Payments terms, Shopify may fund the reserve from2:

Payouts made or due to you for your transactions.
Your payout account, by debiting it.
Other sources of funds linked to your Shopify Payments account.
Funds you provide when Shopify asks.

The same clause sets your rights over the money: you are "not entitled to any interest", have "no right to direct that account" and "no legal interest in those funds or that account"2. Shopify can also take amounts you owe it from the reserve2.

Reserve, payout hold or slower payouts?

Shopify has three tools that delay your money. The fix differs for each.

	Reserve	Payout hold	Custom payout schedule
What is held	Part or all of each sale1	Your payouts, until the cause is resolved7	Nothing held; payouts come later6
Can you take payments?	Generally yes1	Usually; in some cases new orders stop7	Yes
How long	Until the expiry date, then a review1	NoPublished duration7	5 to 20 business days per payout for higher-risk accounts6
How it ends	Review, appeal or met conditions1	Send what's asked, reply to the email7	"Settlement times are reviewed automatically"6
Guide	This page	Shopify Payments payouts on hold	Same

Support can't speed up the last one: "Shopify Support can't shorten your settlement time on request"6.

How to get a Shopify reserve lowered or released

Read the email first. It decides which route you have1:

It invites you to appeal: reply to that email within the stated timeframe.
It lists requirements: you can't appeal by reply. "After you meet the listed requirements, the reserve is removed automatically"1.
It says nothing about either: some reserves "can't be appealed"1. The review before expiry is then your next chance.

Find the reserve email sent to the store owner, and note the expiry date and any conditions1 7.
Check your chargeback rate in Analytics: the Rolling 90-day chargeback rate (NDRP) report is the figure Shopify uses3 4.
Fix the cause the email or the five indicators point to: delivery times, refunds, unclear subscriptions1 5.
Reply in time with evidence: fulfillment and tracking for recent orders, refund and dispute figures by month, what you changed.
Ask for a step. A lower percentage or an earlier date is easier to get than a full removal.
Keep processing on Shopify Payments if your condition requires it: the NDRP exit needs 30 days of processing below 1.00%3.

Based on Shopify Help Center, Reserves and Network dispute resolution programs, read November 3, 2026.

Watch out

"removed automatically" doesn't mean the same day. A merchant reported on the Shopify Community in July 2026 that a 30% reserve, with the condition "below 1% for 30 consecutive days", was still in place 52 days after meeting it8. Keep dated screenshots of your rate and ask support to escalate.

If you leave Shopify Payments

The reserve doesn't come back on the day you stop. It still covers disputes on your past sales, and a processor "may elect to continue to hold any funds deemed necessary" after termination2.

Fig. 3How a 10% reserve builds up

Day 306000$
Day 6012000$
Day 9018000$
Day 12024000$

Source: Illustrative example

the cash you plan around is the peak, not the monthly share

Illustrative example: $60,000 of sales a month, 10% percentage reserve with a 120-day expiry, no disputes or refunds paid from it.

Keep the store open while the reserve runs, so you can still answer disputes and fix a failed payout6. If Shopify ends the relationship, read Shopify Payments closed or deactivated your account.

If you reapply after a decline, Shopify "might place a reserve on your account as a precautionary measure"9. To plan a move: migrating away from Shopify Payments.

By industry

Industry	Why reserves come up	Guide
Supplements	Subscriptions, trials and claims read as unverified	Supplement processing fees and reserves
Skincare	Refill subscriptions and long cycles	Skincare processing fees and reserves
Fitness	Programs and memberships paid upfront	Fitness product processing fees and reserves
Info products	Courses delivered over months	Info product processing fees and reserves
Online pharmacy	Prescription checks and refunds	Online pharmacy processing fees and reserves
Telehealth	Memberships and follow-up visits	Telehealth processing fees and reserves

How Tagada helps

Don't let one reserve set your cash flow

Works with your Shopify store: "Already on Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickFunnels or BigCommerce? Drop TagadaPay in."10
Routing that keeps cash moving: "Route to the processor most likely to approve it, retry on decline. No engineering required."10
A vault you own: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers. No vendor lock-in. Ever."10
Onboarding: "One KYC. One signed package. We distribute it across our processor network and follow up so you don't have to."10
Payouts: "Daily payouts, 135+ currencies."10

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Don't let one reserve set your cash flow

Updated on November 3, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

How long does Shopify hold a reserve?

Until the expiry date in your reserve email. Shopify's own examples use 120 days, but the period is set per account. Before expiry, a risk review decides whether to lift, keep, lower or raise the reserve. Once released, the funds join your next payouts, which can take several business days.

Why is Shopify holding 10% of my payouts?

Often because of a dispute program. Shopify can enroll a store whose dispute-inclusive chargeback rate reaches 1.5% over 90 days, and that comes with a 10% reserve. It can lift early once the rate stays below 1.00% for 30 consecutive days. Otherwise, check your email for the reason.

Can I appeal a Shopify Payments reserve?

Sometimes. If the email invites an appeal, reply to it within the stated timeframe with evidence. If it lists requirements instead, you can't appeal: the reserve is removed automatically once they're met. Some reserves can't be appealed at all, so the review before expiry is your next chance.

Will I get my reserve back?

Yes, minus what it paid for. Disputes and refunds come out of it, and the remaining funds "are returned in full" at the end of the period. After termination, a processor can keep holding funds it deems necessary for chargebacks, refunds or investigations, so keep the store open to answer disputes.

Does a reserve stop me from selling?

Generally no. Shopify says reserves don't stop you from accepting payments "unless explicitly communicated otherwise". A reserve only delays part of your payouts. A payout hold is different: payouts stop until the cause is resolved, and in some cases the store can't take new orders.