Authorize.Net’s list of prohibited categories –
BBB-accredited and A+ rated Tasker Payment Gateways LLC provides this guidance on Authorize.Net’s prohibited products, services, and restricted business activities as general information only.
You should always consult an attorney before engaging in any sort of regulated activity and should carefully read all your provider’s terms and conditions.
Updated on April 12, 2021, contact us here for any new information.
Does Authorize.Net allow smoking accessories like pipes and glassware?
Yes. Authorize.Net does allow legal smoking accessory businesses, like glass pipe & bong sites, to use their payment gateway but the processing piece must be with a headshop-friendly processor.
Read more about pipe and glassware processing.
Does Authorize.Net allow vaporizers and e-juice?
Yes. Authorize.Net is allowing online vaping and electronic cigarette payment gateways – if the processing is set up correctly.
Learn more about vape payment gateways.
Does Authorize.Net allow CBD oil?
Yes. Authorize.Net is allowing CBD sales – you guessed it – as long as the processor it’s connected to also allows CBD.
Read about how to set up CBD payment processing or keep up to date on the latest news on how to process credit cards for CBD.
Does Authorize.Net allow cigars and loose tobacco?
Yes. Authorize.Net does allow cigar payment processing but their standard merchant accounts usually do not. This means you need to set up the gateway and processing correctly.
You can learn more about cigars and Authorize.Net here.
Does Authorize.Net allow FFL and tactical sites?
Yes. Authorize.Net is now allowing online FFL to FFL sites as long as the back-end processing is 2A friendly.
Read about FFL payment processing, our updated FFL Authorize.Net article or about payment processing for tactical sites.
Authorize.Net prohibited products
Authorize.Net’s list of high-risk products and restricted business activities that they do not allow – used to be listed on page 7 of the Authorize.Net service agreement PDF that was found on their site. As of this post, that PDF version can no longer be found via their site search or on the Authorize.Net sitemap.
So, in black and white, what isn’t allowed by Authorize.Net?
Based on our experience with literally hundreds of Authorize.Net users, experts, and resellers, we know of no legal activity that is explicitly prohibited by Authorize.Net’s payment gateway piece. This was not the case in the past, but as we write this we cannot find any reference to prohibited products on the Authorize.Net website.
We reviewed the Authorize.Net Terms of Use, the Authorize.Net Payment Gateway Merchant Account Service Agreement, and we used their site search feature to look for references to commonly prohibited items, allowed uses, and prohibited uses. We found no list of disallowed items or services other than references to illegal activities, which is obvious.
The two biggest takeaways
1. Just because the gateway allows your product, that does not mean your merchant account will. Authorize.Net is simply software; for it to allow the online acceptance of credit cards the payment gateway must be connected to a merchant account.
When selling a simple, low-risk product or service, a merchant account is set up seamlessly by Authorize.Net. But, in the case of high-risk products, the merchant account must be set up correctly on the back-end in order for your site to accept credit cards online.
If you are new to selling regulated items like vape, tactical, FFL, cigars, CBD, or pipes & glassware, you must familiarize yourself with the distinction between a payment gateway and merchant account. Please read the FAQs on our homepage, and review our high-risk Authorize.Net page. These 2 pages will provide the answers you need to move forward.
2. Review all terms and conditions, and get qualified legal advice. As always, we want to emphasize that we are not attorneys, nor do we work for Authorize.Net. Review their terms yourself and seek the advice of an attorney familiar with e-commerce and your specific industry selling online.
Let us help you sell online
If you need help selling a regulated product online using Authorize.Net, let us help. Our dedicated, independent agents will walk you carefully through every step of the process, at no cost to you.
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