If your business is on our Restricted Business list below, it is unlikely that we will be able to accept payments for you.
Paystand does not provide services to certain categories of business models (“Restricted Businesses”). These restrictions are imposed by payment partners, credit card networks, acquiring banks, U.S. and international institutions and authorities.
The following categories are restricted from using Paystand. In some cases, businesses listed below may be eligible for payment processing. If you have any questions or are concerned about where your business is restricted, please contact us.
| Restricted Category | Description |
| Adult Content and Services | Pornography and other obscene materials, including literature, images, video, hentai, and other media and/or products depicting nudity or explicit sexual acts. |
| Aggregation | Any form of licensed or unlicensed aggregation of funds owed to third parties, factoring, or other activities intended to obscure the origin of funds. |
| Airlines | Air transport services for traveling passengers and freight, aircraft rent of any kind. |
| Controlled, Regulated or Illegal Products or Services | Cannabis dispensaries and related products. Tobacco, e-cigarettes, and e-liquid. Online pharmacies and prescription-only products including card-not-present pharmaceuticals. Peptides and research chemicals. Fake references or ID-providing services. Age-restricted goods or services. Weapons and munitions, gunpowder, and other explosives, fireworks, and other toxic, flammable, or radioactive materials. Products, goods, or services with varying legal status on a state-by-state basis. |
| Counterfeit or Unauthorized Goods | Counterfeit goods or unauthorized sale/resale of brand name or designer products or services. This also includes goods or services that have been illegally imported or exported. |
| Cryptocurrencies or Alternative Money | Any form of virtual currency that can be monetized, resold, or converted to physical or digital products and services, including mining equipment, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), digital wallets, and other forms of stored value. |
| Drug Paraphernalia | Any equipment designed for making or using drugs, such as bongs, vaporizers, and hookahs. |
| File Hosting | File hosting services, cloud storage services, online file storage providers, or cyberlockers. |
| Gambling | Lotteries, bidding fee auctions, sports forecasting or odds making for a monetary or material prize, fantasy sports leagues with cash prizes, internet gaming, sweepstakes, and games of chance. |
| Game Bots and Credits | Any kind of software application that runs automated tasks (or scripts) in the game. |
| Get Rich Quick Schemes | Investment opportunities or other services that promise high rewards. |
| High-Risk Businesses | Business models that can pose an elevated financial risk, legal liability, or violate card network or bank policies. This includes bankruptcy lawyers, psychic services, essay mills, chain letters, medical benefit packages, telemedicine/telehealth, travel and reservation services, timeshares, jamming and interference devices, telemarketing, prepaid phone cards, telecom manipulation equipment, extended warranties, government grants, foreign consulate, charities without proper registration, credit card and identity theft protection, the use of credit to pay for lending services, and businesses that promote or celebrate unlawful violence toward any group based on race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other immutable characteristic. |
| Intellectual Property or Proprietary Rights Infringement | Any product or service that directly infringes or facilitates infringement upon the trademark, patent, copyright, trade secrets, or proprietary or privacy rights of licensed materials. |
| Investment and Credit Services | Money transmitters, check cashing, stock or currency trading and courses, wire transfers, money orders, currency exchanges or dealers, e-money exchange, sale of bonds, and collections agencies. |
| Mobile Phone Unlockers | Any jailbreaking, rooting, or unlocking services for mobile phones and smartphones. |
| Multi-Level Marketing | Pyramid schemes and multi-level marketing |
| No-Value Added Services | Sale or resale of a service without added benefit to the buyer; resale of government offerings without authorization or added value; sites that we determine in our sole discretion to be unfair, deceptive, or predatory towards consumers |
| Pay for Publicity | Sale of views, likes, comments, followers, and other forms of social media activity, online traffic, and pay-for-play publicity. |
| Pay-to-Remove Websites | Platforms that facilitate the publication and removal of content (such as mug shots), where the primary purpose of posting such content is to cause or raise concerns of reputational harm |
| Pseudo Pharmaceuticals | Any products that make health claims that have not been approved or verified by the applicable local and/or national regulatory body (such as nutraceuticals or pseudo-pharmaceuticals). |
| Remote Technical Support | Remote computer tech support services, remote computer virus removal solutions. |
| Server Testing | DDoS attack tools, firewall testing tools. |
| Substances Designed to Mimic Illegal Drugs | Sale of a legal substance that provides the same effect as an illegal drug (e.g., salvia, kratom) |
| TV Streaming | Website or application that streams movies, TV-shows, music videos, or other multimedia online without proprietary rights. |
| Video Game or Virtual World Credits | Sale of in-game currency unless the merchant is the operator of the virtual world. |