"This store can’t accept payments right now" on a Shopify payment link

Is “This store can’t accept payments right now” my customer’s problem or my store’s?

“This store can’t accept payments right now” is your store’s problem. Your checkout is saying it can’t take payments at all, whatever card the customer uses. In the usual causes (plan, verification, test mode), a second card or a different customer gets the same page, and so does every payment link you’ve sent. The fix is in your Shopify admin.

If the customer sees a card message instead, such as a decline, see checkout payment errors on a payment link.

Is checkout switched off because my store is on a trial or Pause and Build?

Checkout can be off on a trial store until you choose a paid plan, and on the Pause and Build plan it’s off on every sales channel, Shopify POS included. A trial store starts in private mode or with checkout inactive, and choosing a paid plan turns on online checkout and POS in-person sales.

If a trial ends without a plan, the store is paused. On Pause and Build you can still send draft order invoices, but neither the customer at checkout nor you in the Shopify admin can complete them. That’s why links keep going out while every one of them fails.

To turn checkout back on:

1. Log in to the store as the store owner.
2. Go to Settings > Plan.
3. Click Pick a plan, then Choose plan for the plan you want, and finish subscribing.

If you’re unpausing, your old plan is no longer valid, so you choose a new one.

An unpaid Shopify bill isn’t the cause: the store keeps taking orders, and after 28 days unpaid it’s frozen and customers can’t see it at all.

Is Shopify Payments asking me to verify my account?

If Shopify Payments is waiting on verification, finishing the request is the fix, and only the store owner can open and complete it. In Europe and the UK, missing one deadline pauses payouts, and a second deadline can pause taking orders through Shopify Payments. Both pauses lift automatically once verification is complete. No setting needs changing.

Deadlines show in the Shopify admin, but staff accounts can’t open the verification request page. Ask the owner to log in and look for the banner.

Shopify and its banking partners can ask for more information at any point in the account’s life. One merchant came back from a holiday break to customers seeing this message, with no banking details changed.

Shopify is updating its Europe and UK verification requirements throughout 2026. For accounts opened there since June 2026, charges are paused 30 days after the first Shopify Payments order if the owner hasn’t verified, and those payments are refunded to customers at 90 days. The owner’s admin shows the dates.

Upload documents only through the banner in the admin. Documents sent by email or support chat are redacted and can’t be used. A review can take up to 24 hours, and the account shows the submission as “pending” until then.

Is Shopify Payments in test mode?

Customers can’t place live orders while a payment provider is in test mode, and no real payments are captured. Shopify says not to leave test mode on in a store that’s in production. To turn it off, go to Settings > Payments, click Manage in the Shopify Payments section, clear Enable test mode, then click Save.

On a new store, check that a payment provider is set up at all: Shopify says you need one to take orders. For cash on delivery or bank transfer only, add a manual method in Settings > Payments, under Payment providers.

What if it says “Refresh this page or come back later” and my plan and payments look fine?

This version can hit some customers and not others. One merchant reported it showing in Safari more than Chrome, and mostly when customers chose shipping, while pickup worked. The owner fixed it by updating the theme and turning off an app. If it persists, contact Shopify Support from the Help Center; the community forum can’t see your account details.

What does “This store isn’t taking orders right now” mean?

It points to the plan: a trial with no paid plan, or Pause and Build, switches checkout off. One merchant reported this message, and a reply on the community forum tied it to the plan: “If you’re on trial or the pause plan, then the checkout will be disabled.” Work through the plan check above.

What do I tell a customer who calls about it?

Tell them it isn’t their card and to stop retrying: the problem is your store’s checkout. Whether you can take the money another way today depends on the cause: keying their card in the admin needs verified Shopify Payments, a bank transfer marked as paid works if only Shopify Payments is paused, and on Pause and Build nothing completes the order.

For example: “Thanks for telling us. That message is about our store’s checkout, so please don’t try your card again. We’ll sort it out and send you a new link as soon as it’s fixed.”

• Keying their card in the admin. On a draft, Collect payment > Credit card runs through Shopify Payments and only works once verification is complete. If verification is the cause, this fails too. See taking card payments over the phone first.
• Bank transfer or cash on delivery, if your plan is active. If only Shopify Payments is paused, take the money outside Shopify. When it has arrived, open the draft and click Collect payment > Mark as paid, then Create order. Don’t mark it paid before the money is in.
• On Pause and Build. Neither the Shopify admin nor Shopify POS can complete the order until a new plan is chosen.

Once it’s fixed, open the original link yourself. If it doesn’t load the checkout, send a fresh one, by email or by text from your phone. If one customer still can’t pay while others can, the cause is in that draft: see why a customer can’t pay a draft order invoice.

How do I stop this happening to the next customer?

Open your own link before you send it, to see what your customer will see: go to Orders > Drafts, open the draft, click Share, then Copy link, and open it in a private browser window. Ask the store owner to act on admin banners as soon as they appear. Never leave test mode on in a live store.

Where does Pay Link fit if you send payment links from Shopify POS?

Shopify’s own routes, such as draft order invoices, are covered in Shopify POS payment link options. Pay Link, from Countermade, creates a payment link straight from the Shopify POS cart. The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, and staff never see or type card details. Links from Pay Link open the same Shopify checkout, so the same checks apply.

Before anything is sent, staff see the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping. Turn on local pickup so the customer can choose it at checkout. A double tap makes one link, not two, and staff can see whether a link has been paid. It needs Shopify POS Pro.

Next step

Open Settings > Plan, then Settings > Payments, then open one of your own links in a private window.

Pay Link, from Invenire Studios, isn’t on the Shopify App Store yet. Get early access and we’ll email you when it’s ready to try.