CBD payment gateways and merchant accounts 101
Finding a shopping cart, merchant account, and a payment gateway like Authorize.Net or NMI for a website selling CBD or hemp products online can be very frustrating.
Beyond traditional CBD oils, concentrates, soaps, droppers, and topicals there are newly popular cannabinoids like CBG isolates and CBN that tinctures are rapidly becoming mainstream. Accepting online payments for any of these non-psychoactive compounds can be complicated without the right advice.
The CBD payment gateway and merchant account guide below will give you everything you need to accept credit cards on your website, including access to free one-on-one support.
You can learn more about Tasker Payment Gateways LLC on our About Us page.
Building a CBD website on a hosted platform like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, or Shopify takes a lot of the stress out of building a website, and open-source options like WordPress/WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Magento offer huge amounts of flexibility – but all of these solutions require separate, CBD friendly payment processing.
Without the correct information, setting up CBD credit card processing on any website builder can be a real headache. Below we discuss some common questions and provide real answers to CBD site owners and developers.
Need a CBD payment gateway for your website? Click here to get started!
Online payment processing help for CBD and hemp websites
This page covers how to use Authorize.Net or NMI as your CBD payment gateway, how to integrate a CBD payment gateway with common site builders like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Woocommerce, BigCommerce, or Shopify, and discusses other CBD 101 topics like choosing a site builder, getting legal advice, and setting up your company.
CBD credit card processing options
Fact: accepting credit cards is the biggest challenge most CBD site owners we speak to face.
There are two ways you can integrate your CBD website with a CBD payment gateway:
- Use an all-in-one solution that provides high-risk credit card processing and a payment gateway as a bundled solution.
- Select a merchant account provider and a payment gateway, like Authorize.Net, separately – then integrate them.
The best choice for you depends on what CBD products you offer and which shopping cart or site builder you use. Additionally, each of the three methods above comprises dozens of different “sub-options” that vary based on provider, cost, capitalization of your business, and your previous processing history. This can be downright overwhelming to many site owners, even savvy, experienced ones.
Online CBD payments require a gateway and a merchant account
Whether you have a solid CBD business and just lost your processing, or you are a start-up, you need to know that a payment gateway like Authorize.Net or NMI is only compatible with CBD if it is set up correctly.
Ensuring that you are set up with the correct merchant account on the back end can be a challenge. This is where highly rated companies, trusted agents, and experienced representatives step in to help guide you and answer whatever questions you may have.
Each business has its own needs, and every processor is different. For example, setting up a large, well-funded hemp seed site on Squarespace requires a completely different payment gateway and merchant account recommendation than a CBD tincture site built on WordPress and WooCommerce would.
CBD is a growing industry in the US, and its popularity is spreading like wildfire. There is little doubt the trend will continue. It’s an exciting industry, and if you do it right, you might be able to benefit from this industry’s current rate of success.
If you are ready to accept payments for your new or established CBD site, you can contact us here. If you are just getting started and want to learn a little more about selling CBD online, please continue reading below.
Merchant accounts and payment gateways for CBD
If you are struggling to sell your CBD products online because of payment gateway issues, we have solutions. Business owners who are having difficulties after being declined or shut down by a major payment gateway often contact us looking for solutions.
Authorize.Net can be used for regulated products, like CBD, when it is set up correctly. The process to integrate Authorize.Net with a shopping cart differs from site builder to site builder.
Authorize.Net allows for the PCI-compliant storage of cardholder data. This enables you to safely access your customer’s card data for recurring billing subscription plans – even in “all in one” site builders like Shopify and Wix.
CBD sites using WooCommerce work best with Authorize.Net when using a CBD-friendly merchant account on the back-end and a tested plug-in with tons of installs and reviews, like the ones we recommend here.
CBD business owners using Magento, PrestaShop, or ASecureCart to process payments can integrate with a CBD-friendly Authorize.Net account and merchant account. Both offer native integration and are CBD-friendly when set-up correctly. Contact us anytime for a CBD payment processing recommendation.
Shopify allows Authorize.Net integrations and recurring billing subscriptions. When connected to a CBD-friendly merchant account, Shopify can be a terrific CBD site builder. You can learn more about our Shopify and Authorize.Net solutions here. We also wrote an article on Shopify Payments and the challenges some site owners face. You can learn about that subject here.
Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace can all integrate with Authorize.Net, and both work for CBD, but you need to know the 3rd party solutions, like Foxy.io, that make it all work together. You can read more about Authorize.Net and Wix here or learn about our “top 5 ways to set up high-risk payments for regulated products like CBD on Squarespace” by clicking here.
You can read more about our approach to Authorize.Net here.
We assist site owners by matching them up with one of our trusted payment gateway providers who will meet your needs and recommend a credit card processor that has experience working with businesses like yours.
Need to set up a CBD payment gateway for your site?
A+ rated and BBB accredited, Tasker Payment Gateways LLC will help you add a CBD payment gateway to your Shopify, Wix, Weebly, PrestaShop, Squarespace, or Magento website.
CBD versatility in products and markets
CBD products can include any number of industries. From terpenes to skincare lotions, pet grooming products, home goods, textiles, oils, sprays, and more. CBD is one of the most versatile products to have recently hit the market. With the overall change in attitude towards cannabis in general, it’s no wonder this industry is blowing up into hundreds of millions of dollars so quickly.
Common CBD products sold online
Tinctures are highly common product types and are a very basic type of CBD product. While there are brands that add flavoring to their tincture products, this product type is commonly one of the purest, and it is usually found without added flavor.
Concentrates are a potent product type, often with a higher CBD content. CBD concentrates are also more to be sold without any added flavor. The potency and lack of added flavor make this product appealing to more experienced customers.
Topicals and beauty products can take the form of a variety of different products. In this group of products, we find skincare lotions, lip balms, creams, and more. It is vital to ensure that the claims you make about your product are valid. For product claims, we advise that you do independent research and read the resources available from the US National Center of Biotechnology.
Sprays and oils are the most accessible product types for your customers to use. Light, small, and easily consumed, it is a popular and familiar product for experienced and inexperienced customers alike.
Hemp seeds are more than just simple seeds. The hemp seeds used for CBD production are often “feminized industrial hemp seeds.” Cultivated to produce seed-free, high CBD, low THC hemp flowers, these seeds are ideal for efficient, Farm Bill compliant CBD extraction.
Selling CBD? Know the law and get an attorney first
If you are currently selling or plan on selling CBD oil, you need to consult a qualified attorney that understands CBD laws and e-commerce.
While the industry is promising, we encourage you to get qualified legal counsel and double-check all your local and state laws before selling CBD or any other hemp or cannabis-related product.
After all, you and you alone are responsible for obeying local and state laws!
Form your CBD company
First and foremost, as with most businesses, you will need to register your company. We advise that you speak to an accountant and an attorney before settling on an entity type. You may consider a corporation or an LLC setup as their Limited Liability is well suited for industries that are considered high-risk.
Before you can start selling and processing payments, you need to have all the relevant paperwork in order. For example, you must ensure that you have a Tax ID/EIN from the IRS. Without that step, you will be dead in the water with most CBD processors.
Get your CBD business online
You’ve registered your company; the necessary paperwork is in order; now what?
Now it’s time to go online! There are plenty of platforms where you can get a domain name registered and build your site. Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, and WordPress are examples of where to start when setting up your online presence.
The interface and usability of WordPress make it a highly popular choice. From there, you can choose to set up themes and templates to get started or get customized layouts. This freedom of choice is great, and it is also relatively easy to use and maneuver. Some site builders make accepting payments much harder than others. If you have not chosen a shopping cart yet, please reach out to us for some quick free advice.
Although it is worth reminding you that while having an online presence and doing your online marketing right is essential, you also should be very wary of what claims you make about your products online. If you are in doubt, it is always useful to reach out to a qualified lawyer and seek expert advice.
Set up a payment gateway and CBD merchant account
At Tasker Payment Gateways LLC, the dedicated agents and providers we recommend always strive to give you the best and most up-to-date recommendations on how you can process credit and debit cards online for your legal CBD products.
Need a payment gateway for legal hemp-derived CBD products? Our recommended solutions work with Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, and most other major platforms – let our dedicated agents and independent providers help you, one-on-one – at no direct cost to you. Read more about who we are here.
CBD payment gateways are ever-changing, and accepting credit cards on WooCommerce, for example, is different than it would be on Squarespace or Wix.
Click here to read our ongoing CBD payment gateway spotlight– that page is updated regularly with the latest information on how to accept credit cards for CBD online.
Payment gateways for CBD dropshippers like Dropified
Tasker Payment Gateways LLC knows that finding the right high-risk payment gateway is hard, especially if you dropship CBD. Our dedicated, independent payment gateway experts will help you set up a high-risk payment gateway that works for your CBD dropshipping website.
Dropified Import and Dropified Private Label On-Demand CBD payment processing solutions
Our trusted, vetted partners offer Dropifiy CBD payment processing that works seamlessly with CBD dropshippers that use WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify. Our processing solutions support Dropified’s PLOD (Private Label on Demand /Dropified Black) program and their standard import plan as long as shipping times are predictable and reasonable.
Tasker Payment Gateways LLC’s 3-tier, one-on-one CBD payment support
Due to the continually changing landscape and complexity involved in applying for, integrating, and maintaining a suitable CBD payment option, we use a 3-tiered one-on-one support program for CBD businesses who need help adding payments to their website. Tasker Payment Gateways LLC is A+ rated and BBB accredited. You can learn more about who we are and what we do on our about us page.
Here’s an outline of the 3-tier service our recommended CBD processing providers offer:
1. After you contact us to get started, the provider will call or email you to learn about your business, what shopping cart you use, and exactly which products you offer. Based on your shopping cart and site builder – WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, for example – the agent will then provide a compatible solution and outline the pricing and timelines.
2. To avoid the confusion and frustration sometimes felt by CBD site owners, the same agent who helps you with your initial assessment will generally be the point of contact during the entire approval process. They will help manage and explain the application, the document requests – and assist you along the way.
3. Most times, the same agent or provider rep that you begin working with will stay on as your primary contact during integration, testing, and beyond. We find this avoids a lot of wasted time, waiting on hold, and prevents site owners from explaining the same thing twice.
New CBD website owners have many variables when setting up a payment gateway that works with their shopping cart. The CBD processing world’s ongoing changes make navigating setup, integration, and ongoing support issues very challenging.
How to get back online selling CBD oil if you were shut down
You’ve just gotten your CBD merchant account shut down; we know how stressful that can be. Maybe you were shut down by Square, or Stripe, maybe even by your local bank. It does not matter who shuts you down. The reality is you need to get back up and running ASAP.
CBD merchant account underwriting and loss prevention require more oversight and security than your standard payment gateway or traditional merchant account may want to support. This is why it is referred to as “high-risk” in the e-commerce industry. Don’t worry, though. The trusted agents, gateways, and processors that Tasker Payment Gateways LLC recommends can help you – step by step – get your CBD e-commerce business back up and running.
Contact us today to speak with a CBD payment gateway specialist
Reach out using the form below, and we will offer our assistance with no upfront fees or any obligations to sign up for services. We will take the time to educate you and help you integrate your site so you can start selling again as soon as possible.
REMINDER. We offer payment gateways like Authorize.Net or NMI and CBD credit card processing recommendations. If you are selling CBD or any regulated product, you need to consult a qualified attorney. We do not provide legal advice, but we can help you accept credit cards.