Onboarding Criteria

Paysafe accepts merchants from any sector that does not pose a reputational, credit, legal, or chargeback risk.

Unsupported Merchant Sectors

Applications from merchants matching these criteria are generally rejected:

• Merchant has a reputation for circumventing the law and/or Visa and Mastercard rules.
• Merchant has been (or has had a principal that has been) the subject of a criminal investigation.
• Merchant is in a sanctions database.
• Merchant does not maintain sufficient inventory to meet anticipated sales or their internal or external fulfilment house lacks the resources to promptly fill orders.
• Merchant is currently in business bankruptcy or has been (or has had a principal that has been) the subject of a bankruptcy or receivership proceeding in the last 3 years.
• Merchant accepts payment for a service that has no end date or where there is more than 12 months between payments for that service, for example open-ended warranties. This does not include life insurance contracts.

Applications are also rejected from the following merchant sectors:

• Adoption Agencies – for profit
• Advertising for any Illegal Activity
• Alcohol Sales via Internet/Mail Order
• Associations – Civic, social, and fraternal
• Auction Houses – Excluding subsidiaries of publicly quoted companies or established auction houses of an undoubted nature, such as Christies, Sotheby’s
  All merchants under this MCC must be approved by the Chief Risk Officer (CRO)
• Bail and Bond Payments
• Bankruptcy Attorneys
• Buying/Shopping Clubs or Services
• Check Cashing Institutions
• Chemicals and Allied Products Not Elsewhere Classified
• Child Pornography
• Cigarette/Tobacco Sales
• Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies
• Counseling Centers (non-licensed)
• Counterfeit Goods
• Credit Restoration
• Detective Agencies, Protective Agencies, Security
• Direct Marketing:
  • Questionable products
  • Travel-related arrangement services
  • Inbound telemarketing
  • Outbound telemarketing
• Door-to-Door Sales
• Drug Paraphernalia
• Guns, Firearms, Munitions Sale & Distribution
• Investor Services/Investment Clubs. Sale of Stocks, Securities, Options and Other Iinvestments
• Non-prescription Drugs – such as pharmaceutical wonder drugs, steroids, diet pills & all Internet drug stores
• Pawn Shops
• Political Organizations – Excluding nationally recognized political parties
  All merchants under this MCC must be approved by the Chief Risk Officer (CRO)
• Protection Services
• Pyramid Sales
• Religious Organizations – Excluding nationally recognized religious organizations/faiths
• Services That Include Armored Cars or Guard Dogs
• Sexual Encounter Firms
• Timeshares – Excluding those sold by
  • Nationally recognized hotel chains, such as Marriott & Stanwood
  • Subsidiaries of publicly quoted companies
  • Nationally reputable exchange organizations, such as RCI
  All merchants under this MCC must be approved by the Chief Risk Officer (CRO)