This page explains how Shrimp Aquatics takes payment, when your money is actually charged, and what happens if you cancel an order or need a refund. Live arrival claims are handled separately under our Returns and Live Arrival Claims page.

Last updated September 14, 2026.

Payment methods accepted at Shrimp Aquatics checkout

You can pay by credit or debit card through Stripe, or with your PayPal account. Both options are available on every order and both are completed before the order is confirmed.

Cards and wallets supported through Stripe:

Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Apple Pay
Google Pay

If neither card nor PayPal works from your country, email contact@shrimpaquatics.com before placing an order so we can confirm what is possible for your route.

Why your bank statement may not match the US dollar total

All prices on this site are listed and charged in US dollars. If your card or PayPal account is held in another currency, your bank or PayPal converts the amount using its own exchange rate and may add a foreign transaction fee on top. That conversion sits between you and your provider, so the figure on your statement can be a little higher than the total you saw at checkout. Shrimp Aquatics receives only the US dollar amount shown on your order.

When Shrimp Aquatics charges your payment method

Payment is taken in full at the moment you place the order, not when the parcel ships. This is normal for live animals, because your order is only scheduled into a packing and courier slot once it is paid.

An order is confirmed only after payment clears. If the payment does not complete, the order stays unpaid and nothing is prepared for dispatch.

What to do when a card or PayPal payment is declined

A declined payment almost always comes from your own bank rather than from our store. The usual causes are an international transaction block, a 3D Secure verification step that was not finished, an expired card, insufficient available balance or a billing address that does not match the one on file.

Try the payment once more, and if it fails again, either call your bank to authorize an international charge or switch to the other payment option at checkout. If money left your account but no order confirmation arrived, email us the date, the amount and the email address you used, and we will check whether an order exists on our side.

A failed attempt sometimes leaves a temporary authorization hold on your account. That hold is not a completed payment and your bank releases it on its own schedule.

How your payment details are handled at checkout

Checkout runs over an SSL encrypted connection. Card payments are processed by Stripe and PayPal payments are completed on PayPal’s own system.

Shrimp Aquatics will never ask you for your full card number, your card security code or your PayPal password by email or through social media. If you receive a message that claims to be from us and asks for any of those, do not reply to it and forward it to contact@shrimpaquatics.com.

Cancelling an order before it is packed

You can cancel for any reason while we have not started packing your order. Email contact@shrimpaquatics.com with your order number as early as you can.

Live animals are bagged close to the courier collection time, so this window is shorter than it would be for dry goods. Once your livestock has been taken out of our systems and packed for travel, the order can no longer be cancelled. The animals have already been through the handling that the shipment involves, and putting them back is worse for them than sending them on.

How refunds are returned to you

Every refund goes back to the method you paid with. We cannot send a refund to a different card, a different PayPal account or a bank account.

We confirm your cancellation by email.
We submit the refund within 3 business days of that confirmation.
Stripe or PayPal returns the money to your account, normally 5-10 business days after we submit it.

When you cancel, we refund the price of the animals and items in your order, or move that amount to other livestock if you would like to swap. Shipping charges are not refunded, and neither is the payment processing fee, which the payment provider keeps when a refund is issued.

Refunds connected to a live arrival claim are assessed under our Returns and Live Arrival Claims page, which sets its own conditions. This page covers payment and cancellation only.

Import duties and taxes on international orders

Shrimp Aquatics pays the duties and taxes the courier bills against the shipment, on every route we ship. You are not asked to settle a customs charge before the box is released to you.

Before you order If your country runs its own permit, licence or inspection process, email us the country you are shipping to and we will tell you what that route involves. Shrimp Aquatics does not add a separate documentation fee for export paperwork such as health certificates or permits.

Order verification checks that can cancel a payment

Livestock orders are high in value and travel internationally, so some payments get a closer look before anything is packed. We may email you to confirm details on an order before we dispatch it.

We reserve the right to cancel an order and refund it in full where we have reason to believe the payment was not authorized by the cardholder or the order does not pass our checks. If your order is cancelled this way, the money returns to the original payment method on the timings above and no livestock is shipped. If you believe a legitimate order was cancelled by mistake, reply to the cancellation email and we will look at it again.

Contacting Shrimp Aquatics about a charge or refund

Email contact@shrimpaquatics.com with your order number and the date of the charge. We reply within 24 hours on business days.

Talk to us first If something looks wrong with a charge, contact us before opening a dispute with your bank or PayPal. A chargeback freezes the funds while the provider investigates and normally takes far longer to resolve than a refund we can issue directly.