Articles in this section

See more

Restricted Services and Businesses on Vagaro Merchant Services

Avatar
Miguel
  • Updated
Follow

Excluded Businesses and Services List

The following categories of services and business practices are restricted from using Vagaro Merchant Services. ("Restricted Services and businesses"). Restricted Services categories may be imposed through Vagaro Merchant Services Terms of Use and/or Network Rules or the requirements of our Financial Services Providers. The types of services listed below are excluded but by no means an exhaustive list. By registering with us, you are confirming that you will not use the Service to accept payments in connection with the following services or businesses that provide such services, business activities, or business practices unless you have received prior written approval from Vagaro Merchant Services.

You may not use the Services, for Your benefit or the benefit of another, for any activities Vagaro Merchant Services has identified as a prohibited service or business or activity (collectively, “Restricted Services and Businesses”). Please review the list of Prohibited Services and Businesses thoroughly before registering for and opening a Vagaro Merchant Account. If You are uncertain whether a service, business, or activity is prohibited or have questions about how these restrictions apply to You, please contact us. You may not use the Services to facilitate illegal Transactions. You will not authorize or otherwise encourage any third party to (a) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of Vagaro Merchant Services or prevent others from using the Vagaro Merchant Services, or (b) use Vagaro Merchant Services for any fraudulent or unlawful purpose. Violation of any of the foregoing may result in immediate termination of this Agreement, at Vagaro Merchant Service’s sole discretion, and may subject You to state and federal penalties and other legal consequences. You agree that Your website shall comply with the following standard guidelines:

Med Spa Restrictions

This may include but is not limited to any use of pharmaceuticals (i.e., Botox, Dysport, Juvederm, Toradol, Ketorolac, etc.), hormone therapies (including Stem Cells and Pellet Insertion), and any other prescription treatments.

Our sponsor bank requires the following information to be sent back to us:

  1. Color copy of a valid medical license from the business/physician (if not included with the application)

  2. A statement agreeing to the Prescription Payments Policy below, otherwise, these charges can be refunded to the customer in full, and your merchant account may be closed:

    • Prescription payments must be in person only where the customer hands you a credit card. No online transactions or credit card numbers typed in even at your location will be allowed.

Restricted Activities

Restricted activities are defined as categories that may be allowed with additional underwriting and potential reserve requirements. A signed affidavit of compliance with processing procedures may be requested.

  • Antiques and vintage items

  • Art

  • Automobile parts, used & new

  • Catering

  • CBD / Hemp (anything in an ingestible form is prohibited)CBD / Hemp (anything in an ingestible form is prohibited)

  • Collectibles

    • Coins

    • Faces, Names, and Signatures

    • Stamps

  • Cross-border transactions

  • Electronics

  • Furniture

  • IT (Information Technology) Services

  • Jewelry

  • Live Animals

  • Moving companies

  • Precious metals (Bars, coins, etc.)

  • Private Investigators

  • Taxi / Limo services

  • Web hosting & web design

Prohibited Activities

Prohibited activities are defined as categories that are not allowed to be processed at all, and if they are, your money will be withheld and the merchant account shut down.

  • Adoption Agencies

  • Aggregators (Sales made by a different business entity)

  • Alcoholic Beverages

  • Artifacts, Graver-Related, and Native American Crafts

  • Audio/video text services (adult-oriented)

  • Authenticity Disclaimers

  • Animals and wildlife products classified as endangered or protected

  • Animal Research

  • Animals and wildlife products classified as endangered or protected

  • Bail bonds

  • Bankruptcy lawyers

  • Bath Salts (containing mephedrone, methylene, or MDPV)

  • Bidding fee auctions (a.k.a. penny auctions)

  • Bitcoin Sales, virtual currency sales

  • Business physically located outside the U.S.A. (offshore acquiring)

  • Business and Investment Opportunities

  • Business/Investment opportunities operating as "get rich quick schemes" (e.g., real estate purchase with No Money Down, government grants)

  • Businesses selling age or legally restricted products or services (e.g., sale of alcohol and tobacco), Internet/MOTO

  • Business Opportunities: e.g. Merchants with “Profit", “Work from Home" in the DBA name, Legal name and Website. including Real Estate Investment Seminars or how to " flip" properties for profit

  • Buying/Shopping clubs

  • Cannabis, Marijuana, marijuana dispensaries, marijuana products, marijuana services, and marijuana-related businesses (excluding hemp)

  • Cell phones/pagers (billing for services only)

  • Centralized reservation services

  • Chain letters

  • Charities without 501(c)(3) or equivalent status

  • Check Cashing

  • Child Support/Alimony

  • Contracts

  • Credit card and identity theft protection

  • Credit cards

  • Credit repair/restoration or card protection (including identity theft protection)

  • Currency (In and out of circulation)

  • Cryptocurrency-related businesses (excluding cryptocurrency exchanges)

  • Cyber Lockers   Debt consolidation and mortgage reduction/consulting services, loan modification

  • Debt Collection

    • Collection agency services recovering/collecting past due receivable

    • Debt consolidation and mortgage reduction/consulting services

    • Past Due Accounts Receivable

    • Payment of last resort where the prior method of payment has been difficult to collect or has been uncollectible

  • Digital Goods (Media- Books, Movies, Music, Games)

  • Direct Marketing - Insurance services, travel related arrangements

  • Door-to-Door Sales

  • Decryption and descrambler products, including mod chips

  • Essay mills/paper mills (i.e., ghostwriting services that sell essays, term papers, etc., with the intent that purchaser will submit documents as their own)

  • Embassy, Foreign Consulate, or Other Foreign Government

  • Event Tickets

  • Extended warranties

  • Factoring (defined as charging your own personal credit or debit card)

  • Fake IDs, Government Identification, Uniforms, and Police-Related Items

  • Fake references and other services/products that foster deception

  • Financial transactions, including but not limited to: quasi cash, stored value foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers, securities, and check cashing

  • File sharing services

  • Fireworks and firecrackers

  • Fortune telling, Spells, Sorcery

  • Gambling and gambling services, including but not limited to the following:

    • Legal gambling, where the Cardholder is not present when the bet is made as well as for the direct purchase of wagers/chips via payment card

    • Lotteries

    • Illegal gambling, including internet gambling

    • Sports forecasting or odds making

    • Betting

    • Casino gaming

    • Off-track betting

    • Gambling chips or gambling credits

  • Genetically  Modified foods - Non Health Authority / Government Approved

  • Hazardous materials, CNP including but not limited to:

    • Hydrofluoric acid

    • Products containing cyanide Prohibited ozone-depleting substances (ODS) - prohibited by EPA

    • Nitric Acid

    • Peptides, research chemicals

    • Bacteria cultures or other products containing E- coli or Escherichia coli

    • Human body parts or bodily fluids (excluding hair, teeth)

  • HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc Decryption Devices

  • Hormone Therapy

  • Human body parts and remains

  • Illegal products/services

    • Amyl Nitrite Inhalants

    • Any service providing peripheral support for illegal activities (i.e., drugs)

    • Bootleg Recordings

    • Counterfeit, Imitation, or Knock-off Items

    • Drugs and Paraphernalia

    • Embargoed Goods, Prohibited Countries

    • Goods or services in violation of intellectual property rights

    • Psilocybin Mushrooms and Spices

    • Psychoactive Herbal Products

    • Stolen property

    • Unauthorized Copies

  • Illegal drugs,  substances designed to mimic lottery  drugs, and/or other psychoactive products (e.g., K2, salvia divinorum, nitrate inhalers, bath salts, synthetic  cannabis, herbal smoking blends, herbal incense, and HCG/HGH-like substances, Ketamine)

  • Intravenous therapy (IV Therapy) - CNP by unlicensed provider

  • Investment Opportunities, purchase of stock/securities/commodities, etc. And other investments, such as gold bullion

  • Investments, Real Estate and Financial Seminars

  • Jammers or devices that are designed to block, jam, or interfere with cellular and personal communication devices/signals (e.g., GPS)

  • K2 (also known as Spice or Kronic)

  • Loan payment and loan underwriting

  • Material containing incitement towards, or images associated with, racism, or violent acts of any description, including bestiality, hate and torture

  • Medical Devices

  • Merchants engaged in deceptive marketing practices (e.g., hidden disclosures, bogus claims and endorsements, refund/cancellation avoidance, poorly disclosed negative options, pre-checked opt-in boxes for payment without cardholder's active consent)

  • Merchants engaged in Data Pass (i.e., merchants up-selling or cross-selling products or other merchants and then sharing the cardholder data with the third party or receiving cardholder data from third parties)

  • Merchants engaged in unlicensed aggregation and factoring

  • Merchants engaged in activity prohibited by the Card Brands

  • Merchants offering substantial rebates or special incentives (e.g., free gift, prize, sweepstakes, or contest) as an inducement to purchase products/services

  • Merchants that have a ransom-like or extortion-like basis for their business model (e.g., mugshot removal)

  • Merchants utilizing tactics to evade Payment Network chargeback monitoring programs

  • Money Laundering or the Financing of Terrorist Activities

  • Money Service Businesses

    • Cash advances (by non-financial institutions)

    • Check cashers

    • Currency exchange or dealer

    • Issuer/seller/redeemer of money orders or traveler's checks

    • Money Transmitter

    • Provider or seller of prepaid access/stored value, including both open-loop and closed-loop* exceeding $2,000

    • Quasi-cash or stored value

    • Wire transfer/money order

      *Closed-loop prepaid access includes gift cards, phone cards, subway cards, college campus cards, game cards, and other limited-use prepaid access devices when the value can exceed $2,000

  • Negative response marketing techniques by any type of merchant (i.e., the customer is automatically charged if merchandise is not returned at the end of a free trial period)

  • Nutraceuticals (i.e., food products or other digestibles marketed via unsubstantiated and/or unlawful health or medical claims, frequently associated with weight loss claims, anti-aging, sexual stimulants, increased energy, etc.)

  • Pay per click Web Merchants " Parked Websites"

  • Products or Services with unreasonable claims or guarantees

  • Pellet Insertion

  • Payday Lenders, payday loans, and unsecured loans/lines originating from non-FDIC-insured banks

  • Pharmacies

  • Postal Services

  • Prescription Drugs and Devices

  • Products/services that promote hate, violence, harassment, or abuse

  • Pyramid schemes

  • Quasi-cash or stored value

  • Rechargeable Phone Cards

  • Real Estate Agents and Brokers

  • Real estate purchase with no money down

  • Recalled items

  • Rent Payments

  • Salvia Divinorum (Perennial Herb - aka Sally-D, Magic Mint, Maria Pastora)

  • Sales leads / Lead generation

  • Security brokers

  • Sexually oriented or pornographic merchants, including but not limited to the following:

    • Adult bookstores or video stores

    • Adult telephone conversations

    • Adult-oriented audio/video text services

    • Adult websites and content

    • Any products on the internet containing graphic or nude content

    • Companion/escort services

    • Fetish products

    • Gentleman's clubs, topless bars, and strip clubs

    • Illegal activity (e.g., child pornography, bestiality)

    • Sexually oriented dating services

    • Mail order spouse and international match-making services

    • Massage parlors

    • Membership, clubs, subscriptions

    • Prostitution

    • Video (web-based sexually-oriented video)

    • Miscellaneous adult entertainment

  • Shipping/Forwarding Brokers

  • Social media "click farms" (i.e., the sale of clicks/likes/reviews/endorsements on social media sites)

  • Software

  • Splitting transactions to circumvent account limitations

  • Stem Cell Therapy

  • Structuring (defined as processing the same credit or debit card multiple times within a 24-hour period)

  • Substances designed to mimic illegal drugs (e.g., herbal synthetic cannabis, herbal smoking blends, herbal incense, and HCG/HGH-like substances)

  • Substances made to closely resemble or look like illegal substances

  • Substances marketed as producing effects similar to the effects of illegal substances

  • Telecommunications

  • Telemarketing companies involved with the following methods of operations:

    • Offering a free gift, prize, sweepstakes, or contest entry as an inducement to purchase their product or service

    • Inbound telemarketing companies that receive calls as the result of postcards or similar mailings (as opposed to catalog or media advertising)

    • Selling products/services as an agent for a third party

  • Third-Party Payment Processors/Aggregators/Payment Service Companies (e.g., bill pay service, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer payments, digital wallets, commissary accounts) falling outside of Card Brand approved requirements (Payment Facilitators)

  • Tobacco, tobacco-less cigarettes, or e-cigarettes

  • Tour Operators

  • Travel-related merchants to include:

    • Airlines (including airlines "nested" under another entity)

    • Cruise lines (including airlines "nested" under another entity)

    • Timeshares

    • Vacation rentals/Lodging

  • Unlocked cellphones

  • Unqualified Multi-Level Marketing Companies

  • Unqualified Pseudo Pharmaceuticals/Neutraceuticals (e.g., anti-aging pills, colon cleansers, detox products, muscle-building, sexual stimulants, weight loss, diet, etc.)

  • Used vehicles

  • Virtual currency that can be monetized, re-sold, or converted to physical/digital goods/services or otherwise exit the virtual world

  • Weapons and ammunition, and firearm parts, Internet/MOTO

  • Wire transfer/money order

  • Any other activity deemed by the bank, underwriter, or Vagaro to be similar to those activities listed above

Related articles

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.