What to do if Shopify holds part of your payouts
- Read the reserve emailThe type, the percentage or amount, the period, any removal requirements and whether you can appeal.
- Check Reserved fundsOn the Shopify Payments payouts page, Reserved funds shows the money in reserve until the period ends.
- Reply on time if it invites an appealWithin the timeframe the email gives; some reserves can't be appealed.
- Fix the triggerShip the backlog, answer open disputes and pay refunds that are owed.
How a Shopify reserve works
- Fixed or percentage. A fixed reserve sets aside a set sum for a period; a percentage reserve holds a share of each transaction, for example 10% for 120 days while the other 90% pays out as usual.
- You're told by email, with the terms.
- Where to see it. Reserved funds appear on the payouts page and can't be accessed until the reserve period ends.
- Reviewed before it expires. Shopify can lift, keep, reduce or increase it; released funds join upcoming payouts, which can take several business days.
Chargebacks themselves come out of payouts too: Shopify deducts the disputed amount from your next available payout.
What you can do
- Reply to the reserve email within its timeframe if it invites an appeal.
- Meet any removal requirements the email lists; some reserves are removed automatically once they are met.
- Bring disputes down: answer winnable chargebacks, refund what's owed quickly and prevent the next ones (see how to prevent chargebacks on Shopify).
Example: a viral week
A store's sales triple in a week after an ad takes off, while fulfillment stretches to 10 days. A sudden volume surge and long delivery timelines are both factors Shopify names, and a reserve email arrives holding 10% of each transaction for 120 days. Shipping the backlog with tracking, and answering "where is my order" messages before they turn into disputes, is the first step.
More questions
Is a Shopify reserve a fee?
No. Shopify describes a reserve as a temporary hold on a portion of your transactions: the money is still yours, but it can't be accessed until the reserve period ends and the account review releases it into upcoming payouts.
Can one chargeback trigger a Shopify reserve?
It can contribute. Shopify names elevated chargeback activity among the factors, and at low volume one dispute moves your ratio a lot: one chargeback in 45 orders is about 2.2%, while processors and card networks start flagging stores at around 1% of orders disputed.
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Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Reserves in Shopify Payments (checked October 16, 2026)
- Shopify Help Center: Chargebacks and inquiries (checked October 5, 2026)
- Shopify Help Center: Card network monitoring programs (checked October 5, 2026)
Last reviewed by Verdikx Research.