Prohibited Goods and Services

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