Shoplazza Payments | Changing your payment entity

If you need to change the company that receives payments through Shoplazza Payments, you can add a new entity and activate it yourself in your Shoplazza admin. For example, you may have been accepting payments with a Hong Kong company and now want to switch to a newly registered US company, or your current company is being dissolved or restructured. This article explains how to change your entity and how funds and orders are handled for your new and previous entities afterward.

Understanding entity changes

What is an entity?

An entity is the overseas company you use to set up Shoplazza Payments, such as a Hong Kong company or a US LLC. Each entity has its own payment account. Payments your store receives through Shoplazza Payments go to the account of the entity that is currently active.

Changing your entity means adding and activating, not replacing

To change your entity, you first add a new entity, then activate it after it is approved. Your previous entity is not deleted. It stays in your admin and continues to handle transactions that were already processed under it. After you activate the new entity, all new orders are paid to the new entity.

Transaction ownership: Each transaction belongs to the entity that was active when the payment succeeded. Any later refunds, disputes, chargebacks, subscription renewals, and remaining settlements for that transaction are handled by its original entity. They do not move to the new entity when you change entities.

Note

Activating a new entity cannot be undone：Once you activate a new entity, your previous entity is automatically and permanently set to Deactivated, and you cannot switch back to it. If you want to accept payments with your previous company again later, you'll need to add it as a new entity and go through the review again.

Adding a new entity

In your Shoplazza admin, go to Settings > Payments > Shoplazza Payments, and open the Basic payment settings tab. The Entity information section is at the top of the page.

Step 1: Add an entity

In the Entity information section, click Add entity.

Step 2: Fill in the entity details

Complete the five steps as prompted: Select country > Business Info > Legal representative > Owner(s) > Payout account.

The Business Info, Legal representative, and Owner(s) steps are pre-filled with the details from your last application. You can edit them directly.
Your company details and payout account need to be entered again. The payout account must meet the Shoplazza Payments banking requirements.

Step 3: Submit for review

After you submit, your application goes into review. During the review, the Add entity button is unavailable, and the Entity information section shows the message: "Your entity application is under review. We'll send you the result by in-app notification and email."

You'll receive the review result by in-app notification and by email to the store owner's email address. For details, see "Review result notifications" below.

Step 4: Approval

Once approved, the new entity appears in the Entity information section with the status Pending activation. The new entity can't accept payments yet. Follow the steps in the next section to activate it.

Activating a new entity

Follow the steps below in order. If you don't deactivate Shoplazza Payments first, you won't be able to activate the new entity.

1. Deactivate Shoplazza Payments. On the Shoplazza Payments page, click Deactivate in the bottom-left corner to pause Shoplazza Payments. You can't accept payments while it is deactivated, so complete the remaining steps as soon as possible.

2. Activate the new entity. Go back to the Entity information section and click Activate on the entity you want to use. This button only appears on entities with the status Pending activation.

3. Confirm the switch. A confirmation dialog reminds you that your previous entity will be automatically deactivated and that you can't switch back. Confirm to complete the switch.

4. Reactivate Shoplazza Payments. After you activate the new entity, the page shows the message: "Your business entity is set up, but Shoplazza Payments hasn't been activated yet, so you can't accept payments. Click [Activate] at the bottom of this page to turn it on." Click Activate in the bottom-right corner to reactivate Shoplazza Payments. Your entity change is now complete, and new orders will be paid to the new entity.

Entity statuses and information

Entity statuses

Status	Meaning	Can it be activated?
Pending activation	Approved but has never been activated	Yes
Active	The entity is currently accepting payments. Only one entity can be active at a time.	—
Deactivated	Previously accepted payments, but was automatically deactivated when you activated another entity	No. A deactivated entity can't be activated again.

What the Entity information card shows

The Entity information card lists all entities under your store. Each entity shows the following:

Field	Description
Entity name	The company's legal name
Entity country/region	Hong Kong / United States / Canada / United Kingdom / France
Settlement currency	For example, HKD, USD, EUR, or GBP
Payment status	Enabled / Disabled
Withdrawal status	Enabled / Disabled
Status	Active / Pending activation / Deactivated

What happened to your previous entity

Every entity that has accepted payments stays in your admin for you to view, whether or not it is currently active. Changing your entity doesn't affect after-sales handling for orders under your previous entity: orders placed under the previous entity can still be refunded as usual, and existing subscription renewals continue to be charged by the previous entity.

Feature	Available for a previous (Deactivated) entity?
View balance, transactions, reserve, and withdrawal records	Yes. Switch between entities using the account dropdown on the Finances page. See "Viewing funds for your new and previous entities" below.
Automatic withdrawals	Yes. Withdrawals continue at the frequency you set previously.
Refunds, disputes, and subscription renewals	Yes. They are automatically handled by the previous entity.
Negative balance deduction	Yes
Refund deduction authorization	Yes. If you've turned on refund deduction authorization, when your available balance isn't enough to complete a refund, the amount is charged to the payment method linked under Plans and billing. This applies to both your new and previous entities.
Reactivate	No
Edit settlement description	No
Edit payout account	Not available in the admin. To make changes, contact your account manager.
Edit withdrawal frequency	No

Viewing funds for your new and previous entities

After you change entities, funds for your new and previous entities are recorded separately. You can switch between entities on the Finances page to view each entity's funds and transaction data.

Where to find it: In your Shoplazza admin, go to Finances > Shoplazza Payments.

1. Click the account dropdown in the top-left corner of the page. The list shows all entities under your store. Each entity shows its company name (Company), country/region (Country), account ID, and an Active or Deactivated tag.

2. Select the entity you want to view. The page shows that entity's balances, pending settlements, reserve, payment and withdrawal status, as well as its payment overview, settlement details, and withdrawal records.

For details on each balance type and how to reconcile, see Shoplazza Payments | Tracking available balance and Payouts.

Review result notifications

In the following three cases, Shoplazza notifies you by in-app notification (a pop-up in the bottom-right corner and the message center) and by email to the store owner's email address:

Case	Notification
Materials need updating or correcting	Lets you know your application was not approved. Click Add entity in your admin to view the reason, then update or correct your materials and resubmit.
Approved	Lets you know your new entity has been approved. Activate the new entity in your admin as soon as possible. You can only accept payments with it after it is activated.
Not approved	Let's you know your application was not approved. You can view the reason in your admin.

Important notes

1. Activation can't be undone. Once you activate a new entity, your previous entity is permanently deactivated. Make sure the new entity's details are correct before you activate it.

2. Deactivate Shoplazza Payments before activating a new entity. You can't activate a new entity while Shoplazza Payments is active. After activation, remember to reactivate Shoplazza Payments.

3. Funds and orders under your previous entity aren't affected. The balance of your previous entity continues to be withdrawn at your existing withdrawal frequency, and refunds, disputes, and subscription renewals for its orders are handled as usual.

You can't add a new entity in these cases

Case	What you'll see
You already have an entity with the status Pending activation	The button is unavailable, with a message that you already have an entity pending activation and can't add a new one for now.
You have an application under review	The button is unavailable, and the Entity information card shows an under-review message.
Your last application was not approved and reapplication hasn't been reopened yet	The button is unavailable, and the card shows the reason your application was not approved.

FAQs

Q1:After I change entities, how are refunds for my previous orders handled?

They aren't affected. Refunds, disputes, and subscription renewals for orders under your previous entity are automatically handled by that entity.

Q2: My previous entity still has a balance. Can I withdraw it?

Yes. As long as the withdrawal status of your previous entity is Enabled, the balance is withdrawn automatically at the frequency you set previously.

Q3:Can I switch back to my previous entity after activating a new one?

No. Once you activate a new entity, your previous entity is permanently deactivated. To accept payments with your previous company again, you'll need to add it as a new entity and go through the review again.

Q4:Nothing happens when I click Activate, or I see a message that I can't activate the entity. What should I do?

First click Deactivate in the bottom-left corner of the Shoplazza Payments page to pause Shoplazza Payments. Then go back to the Entity information card and click Activate.