Transfer Store Ownership
How to hand a store to a new owner, what PayNow needs from both people, and what does not move with it.
A store belongs to one account. Selling the community, handing it to a co-owner, or moving it off a parent's account all mean transferring that ownership.
Transfers are done by PayNow support. There is no button for it in the dashboard.
Full access is not ownership
You can give someone a role carrying every permission there is. That still doesn't make them the store's owner. Ownership sits with the account, not with a role: that account receives the payouts and is the only one who can request a transfer.
This catches people out when a team changes hands. Check who actually owns the store before agreeing anything.
Before you ask
Both people need to be ready, or the request stalls.
The new owner must:
- Have a PayNow account.
- Be invited to the store as a team member, and have accepted the invite.
- Have completed identity verification (KYC) on their own account.
- Have payouts set up on their own account.
Steps 3 and 4 are the ones that hold transfers up. They take days, not minutes, so start them before requesting the transfer.
Requesting the transfer
Contact PayNow support with all of the following:
| From the current owner | From the new owner |
|---|---|
| Store ID | Full name |
| Full name | Email address on their PayNow account |
| Email address on the store |
The request has to come from the current owner. Support will not act on a request from the person receiving the store, whatever access they already have.
What does not move
The wallet stays with the account. Wallets belong to accounts, not to stores, so the balance sitting in the old owner's wallet does not transfer. Only sales made after the transfer pay into the new owner's wallet.
Withdraw your balance before handing the store over.
Also worth settling before the transfer:
- Currency cannot be changed. A store's currency is fixed when it is created. If the new owner needs a different one, they have to create a new store instead.
- Payouts follow the owner. Once transferred, the store pays into the new owner's account.
- Team access stays as it is. Existing members keep their roles. Review them afterwards.