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Prohibited Goods and Services

Prohibited Products List

The following types of products are prohibited by the Card Brands and/or our banks/processing partners:

  • Adult and Prohibited Content:
    • Any adult entertainment or content that is sexual in nature, dating or escort services, matchmaking or mail-order spouse, content that is sexual in nature, content that promotes political, religious or social campaigning or extremism, the occult/supernatural, or content that promotes violence, hate, harassment, or abuse
  • Alcohol, Tobacco or Marijuana Products
    • The sale of alcohol or tobacco products or other smoking products (including e-cigarettes/smokeless cigarettes), herbal smoking blends and herbal incense, marijuana, marijuana products, marijuana services, and marijuana related businesses or drug paraphernalia of any kind
  • Animals
    • The sale of animals and wildlife, veterinary practices, or any animal product classified as endangered or protected
  • Auction Sites
    • Auction houses and penny auctions
  • Automobile Sales, Rental or Importers
    • Car and truck rental, sales or import
  • Brand Damaging
    • Products and/or services that, in their sole business judgment, Digital River determines could be damaging to Digital River’s brand.
  • Chargebacks (excessive)
    • Merchants in any Card Brand excessive chargeback or fraud program or merchants with chargeback or fraud rates over 1%
  • Chain Letters
    • Chain Letters
  • Counterfeit, Copyright/Trademark Infringement
    • Unauthorized distribution of licensed merchandise; copyright/trademark infringement; Replicas/counterfeit goods-designer name products; Fake references and other services that foster deception (e.g. fake IDs and government documentation)
  • Data Sharing Services
    • Cyberlockers (data/video file storage, transfer, or sharing service with remote access or playback capability)
  • Debt Collection
    • Debt repayment and collection agencies; Fines or penalty collections of any kind;
      • Collection agencies or firms involved in recovering/collecting past due receivables; Debt/interest consolidation or reduction services; Collection Agencies (loan payments cannot be transacted on Visa card; card payments cannot be accepted for dishonored checks or for debt deemed uncollectible by another); Credit counseling / repair / protection or identity theft services; debt elimination/ reduction services
  • Donations/Charities
    • Donations or charities (without evidence of 501(c)(3) or equivalent status)
  • Dual-Use Technology or “Unfinished Goods”
    • “Dual-use” refers to technology that can be used for both peaceful and military aims. Examples are microprocessor chips, night vision, thermal imaging, and other technologies.
    • Any item that may have civilian/military dual use.
  • Financial Related Services
    • Payment Facilitator / Third Party Processors / Aggregators / Payment Service companies (e.g. bill pay services, peer to peer payments, digital wallets, commissary accounts) ; Virtual currency (that can be monetized, resold, converted, traded into physical/digital goods & services outside the virtual world); Cash gifting; Payday loans, title loans, and unsecured loan/lines originating from non-FDIC insured banks; Commodity/Security trading (i.e. selling gold, silver, bonds, etc.); Credit/debt reduction/consulting services; FOREX trading software or service that guarantee a profit
  • Fortune Tellers
    • Services associated with pseudoscience (e.g. clairvoyance, horoscopes)
  • Gambling
    • Legal gambling or Game of Skill where participants receive cash or cash equivalents or prizes with/of material value: including but not limited to: Casinos, poker, bingo, slot machines, betting, lotteries, racing, fantasy sports
  • Government
    • Governmental services, such as embassies or consulates
  • Hazardous Materials
    • Hazardous materials (B2B), including but not limited to:- Hydrofluoric acid- Products containing cyanide- Prohibited ozone-depleting substances (ODS)

      – Nitric acid

      – Peptides, research chemicals

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

  • Identity Theft Services
    • Credit counseling / repair / protection or identity theft services
  • Illegal
    • Any illegal product or service
  • Investment Programs/Seminars
    • Investment programs/ business opportunities/seminars; Business investment opportunities operating as ‘get rich quick schemes’
  • Financial Related Services
    • E-wallet or e-money that can be monetized, re-sold or converted to physical and digital goods and services or otherwise exit the virtual world
    • Financial service or money service business, including but not limited to:
      • traveler checks
      • money orders
      • Foreign Exchange
      • check cashing
      • virtual currencies
      • cash advances by non-financial institutions
      • Provider or seller prepaid access/stored value
      • Crowdfunding
  • Insurance Products
    • Insurance services requiring registration with supervisory authorities
  • Marketing Products/Services
    • Deceptive marketing tactics related to disclosure, false or inaccurate claims, before/after claims, endorsements, cancelation or refunds avoidance, prechecked opt-ins, poorly disclosed negative options, misappropriation of incentives, disproportionate rebates, sweepstakes; Business investment opportunities operating as ‘get rich quick schemes’; Direct Marketing and Infomercial (continuity/subscription, travel); Direct Marketing – Inbound teleservices, outbound telemarketing and travel-related arrangement services, Insurance services, catalog merchants, door-to-door sales; Discount Coupon or Online Sites; Matrix; Single Level, Multi-Level, MLMs
  • Medical/Pseudo-Medical Products & Services
    • Health practitioners, private medical practices, e-doctors, dental/medical services and facilities
    • Medical, dental, ophthalmic and hospital equipment and supplies; Pharmaceuticals, prescription medicine and medical devices (including animal pharmaceuticals)
  • Membership Clubs
    • Discount buying clubs/home shopping clubs
  • Nutraceuticals and Pseudo-Medical Products
    • Dietary supplements that are not DSHEA, FDA, DEA compliant or pseudo pharmaceuticals (e.g., anti-aging pills, sexual stimulants, weight loss, diet, etc.); Nutraceuticals (products making health related claims such as herbal remedies or health drinks, etc.); Intravenous therapy (e.g. IV drip bar, vitamin infusions, hang over cures)
  • Prepaid Phone Services
    • Sale of Mobile Minutes; prepaid phone cards, prepaid phone services
  • Prescription Drugs (including veterinary prescriptions)
    • Prescription drugs or other controlled substances; Drugs, and tools specifically intended to produce drugs, paraphernalia, illegal drugs, substances designed to mimic illegal drugs and / or other psychoactive products
  • Pyramid Schemes or Multi-Level Marketing
    • Business/investment opportunities operating as ‘get rich quick schemes’/Home Based Internet Businesses (e.g. real estate investment with no money down, work from home, home based internet business); Pyramid scheme, Snow ball (Germany) or ‘get rich quick’ products
  • Real Estate/Timeshare/Mortgage
    • Real estate flipping, foreclosure protection/guarantees, timeshare-related or timeshare resellers, mortgage/loan modification, Mortgage consulting services or credit/debt counseling
  • Resellers
    • Pawn shops or “Upsell” sub-merchants
  • Sales Practices (unfair or deceptive)
    • Deceptive marketing tactics related to disclosure, false or inaccurate claims, before/after claims, endorsements, cancellation or refunds avoidance, prechecked opt-ins, poorly disclosed negative options, misappropriation of incentives, disproportionate rebates, sweepstakes
    • Any product, service or activity that is deceptive, unfair, predatory or prohibited by one or more Card Brands (i.e. hidden disclosures; bogus claims & endorsements, refund/cancellation avoidance
    • Certain social media businesses (e.g. click farms)
      • The T&C do not contain clear disclosure to billing practices
      • Contain cancellation obstacles or do not provide reminders prior to billing
      • Pre-checked opt-in boxesNegative renewal option following a free or low-cost purchase (including pay for shipping only offers) where any of the following apply:
      • Sub-Merchants operating as a front for other businesses
  • Signal Blockers
    • Decryption and descrambler products and services, devices designed to block, jam or interfere with cellular and personal communications; Jammers or devices that are designed to block, jam or interfere with cellular and personal communication devices/signals
  • Ticket Brokers
    • Theater/concerts, ticket agencies
  • Travel
    • Airlines or Cruise Lines; Limousines/taxi (multi or single vehicle); Travel agents/tour operators; Travel agents and tour operators
  • Unauthorized Use
    • Sale of copyrighted or trademarked material or products where the Brand is not the manufacturer, licensor, or authorized reseller
    • Reselling a product that is not (or does not enhance) Brand’s primary product offering (e.g., reselling digital coins purchased on the open market is an unauthorized use, but a selling a 3rd party warranty to enhance a Brand’s primary product sold by Digital River is not an unauthorized use).
    • Digital Rights Management (DRM) removal tools (region-free products and convertors that remove DRM)
    • YouTube and other video streaming downloaders
    • Mass-emailing/spamming products
    • Spyware
    • Video games with an ESRB rating of “AO” or unrated, or games prohibited for sale in specific locales
    • Fake references and other services that foster deception (e.g. fake IDs and government documentation)
    • Sale of social media activity
    • Social media “click farms” (the sale of clicks/likes on social media sites)
  • Weapons
    • Any military items or defense articles regulated by International Traffic in Arm Regulations (ITAR) 22CFR121.1 The United States Munitions List. (US Sales only, excluding guns, ammunition, or gun parts); Firearms, ammunition, and gun parts; Trade of weapons, ammunitions, military arms, explosive devices, and firearm parts