What card networks and Shopify Payments expect from merchant websites

If you accept cards on a Shopify store, two sets of expectations sit on top of one another. Shopify's platform terms describe what must appear on your store. Shopify Payments, and the banks and card networks behind those card charges, also expect a merchant website to disclose who is selling, how to get in touch, what the customer will pay, and the rules for delivery, returns, and cancellation. The wording differs from one review to the next, but the themes are consistent, which is why a "thin" storefront can delay onboarding or attract extra scrutiny later.

This is a plain-language overview of those common expectations, not a complete statement of card-network or Shopify Payments rules, and not legal advice. Your acquirer, and the consumer-protection laws in the countries you sell to, can require more than the list below.

What Shopify already requires on the store

Shopify's Terms of Service ask merchants to provide public-facing contact information, terms of service, a refund policy, and shipping policies that include order-fulfillment timelines. Public contact information should include your name, address, telephone number, and email address. You should also tell customers if you use a third-party supplier.

Shopify's consumer-protection guidance adds useful detail on the same points. A refund policy should explain the return window, the return address, who pays to send the item back, that refund timing can depend on where the customer lives, and how to contact you if a refund is late. Before a customer finishes paying, it should be clear how long the order will take to arrive. Delays, customs or import fees, and third-party fulfillment should be communicated rather than discovered after the charge.

In practice, the most reliable way to meet the "easy to access" test on Shopify is to complete Settings → Policies so the documents appear as links in Shopify Checkout, and to repeat those links in the store footer. Then open the live checkout and footer yourself. A policy that exists only in the admin is not yet a public disclosure.

Shopify Payments does not replace those obligations. You remain the merchant of record for the sale. Shopify's checkout and policy tools make it easier to present the required information; they do not transfer responsibility for accurate disclosures or how you handle refunds and fulfillment.

What card networks and acquirers typically look for

Card networks expect acquirers to confirm that a merchant website is a fair representation of the business that will appear on the customer's statement. Reviews therefore look for identity, contact, and transactional disclosures, not just a working add-to-cart button. Across common acquirer and card-scheme website checklists, reviewers typically want to see:

• The legal business name, and the trading name if it is different, so the customer can match the site to the charge.
• A physical business or registered address, and, where relevant, the country in which the business is established.
• A customer-service email address or phone number, often together with a Contact page.
• A clear description of the goods or services being sold.
• The price the customer will pay, the transaction currency, and any added shipping, tax, duty, or other charges—or a clear statement that those amounts are calculated before payment is submitted.
• Terms and conditions, a privacy policy, a refund or return policy, and a delivery or shipping policy, available before the customer completes the transaction.
• Cancellation and refund procedures, including what happens if you sell services, digital goods, preorders, or subscriptions.
• Recurring-payment disclosures when you bill on a schedule: the amount, the frequency, and how to stop future charges.
• Consistency between the website and the information you gave in your payments application. A different legal name or address than the one on file is a frequent reason a website review is sent back.

Some reviews also look for a tax or company registration number where that is standard in your jurisdiction, and for a note about how the charge will appear on a card statement. Requirements are not identical in every country.

Why checkout is part of the website review

Disclosures that appear only after payment, or only in an email, often fail a review. The customer is supposed to see the merchant name, the nature of the purchase, the total and currency, and links to cancellation or refund terms before they confirm the charge. Shopify Checkout already provides a place for policy links and for order totals; your job is to make sure those links go to complete, current pages and that the totals are understandable.

That includes subscription and trial offers. If a customer can start a recurring charge without a clear, affirmative acknowledgment of the ongoing price and billing interval, you should expect questions from a reviewer and a higher risk of later disputes. The same is true of fees mentioned without an amount, or delivery promises that your supplier cannot meet.

What this looks like on a well-prepared Shopify site

A store that is ready for a website review usually has a complete footer: business name, address, email, phone, and links to terms, privacy, refund, shipping, and contact. Policy pages describe actual practice, not empty headings, and product pages do not contradict them. Shipping pages give processing and transit ranges and mention international fees or third-party fulfillment where they apply. The live checkout shows the same policies and a recognizable store name.

Reviewers also commonly flag stores that hide contact information, describe refunds only in a chat widget, or still show placeholder theme text. Those are fixable problems, and it is better to find them yourself than during an underwriting pause.

If you want a first pass over the public pages of your site, run a free compliance scan on the Laminar Checkout homepage. Paste your storefront URL to see whether contact details, refund and shipping policies, pricing signals, and other common payment-review items are present and easy to find. The scan is informational and does not replace a legal or acquirer review.