Adyen Prohibited & Restricted Businesses List

Fetish merchandise is banned outright on Adyen, even though other adult goods are only restricted.

Adyen bans sexual or offensive content in every format, which covers adult sites, streaming platforms, and paid content services.

In-person and service-based adult entertainment, including clubs and escort agencies, is banned outright.

Companies whose ownership is held through anonymous bearer shares cannot open an Adyen account because ownership cannot be verified.

Binary options trading businesses are banned outright for both merchants and platforms.

Credit repair and credit protection companies are banned outright, with no restricted path offered.

Financial advice businesses operating independently or without a license are banned outright.

Payday and unsecured lending, along with loans from banks outside FDIC insurance, is banned outright.

Banks with no physical presence or real operations are banned outright.

Fake or replica goods and anything built to dodge intellectual-property protections are banned outright.

Services that write academic work for customers to pass off as their own are banned outright.

Tools or services that defeat copy protection or enable unlicensed use of copyrighted material are banned outright.

Businesses using Adyen's brand or intellectual property without permission are banned from the platform.

Investment opportunities pitched as fast-wealth schemes are banned outright.

Any business built on ransom-style or coercive payment practices is banned outright.

Tactics meant to dodge the card networks' chargeback monitoring programs, such as spreading volume across accounts, are banned outright.

Passing a customer's payment details to a second seller for follow-on charges, known as data pass, is banned outright.

Misleading sales tactics, including poorly disclosed subscription billing and pre-checked opt-ins, put a business in the banned category regardless of what it sells.

Businesses selling fake references or other deception-enabling products are banned outright.

Telemarketing operations built around postcard or mailer response campaigns are banned outright.

Anything promoting hate, violence, discrimination, terrorism, harassment or abuse is banned outright.

Pyramid structures, chain letters and similar financial scams are banned outright.

Selling endangered or protected animals, or products made from them, is banned outright.

Bail bond businesses and bankruptcy law practices are banned outright.

Pay-per-bid and penny auction models are banned outright, unlike traditional auction houses which are only restricted.

Social media businesses built on artificial engagement, such as click farms, are banned outright.

Private investigation and detective services are banned outright.

Selling the same hazardous materials, including peptides and research chemicals, directly to consumers is banned outright.

File-hosting lockers Adyen classifies as high risk are banned outright, while mainstream cloud storage is only restricted.

Selling human body parts or bodily fluids is banned outright, with hair and teeth as the only exceptions.

IV drip bars, vitamin infusion clinics and hangover-cure services are banned outright.

Telecom merchants that manually key in card details rather than processing them electronically are banned outright.

Mail-order bride and international match-making services are banned outright.

Pawn shops are banned outright for both merchants and platforms.

Telemarketers selling on behalf of another company are banned outright, a stricter stance than the restricted status for direct-marketing models generally.

Drugs, drug paraphernalia, mimics and other psychoactive products are banned outright.

Anything illegal, or any service supporting illegal activity, including unlicensed gambling, is banned outright.

Equipment and services marketed for producing or growing drugs, including grow supplies aimed at that use, are banned outright.

Selling fireworks, flammable goods or radioactive materials is banned outright.

Firearms, ammunition, explosives and even firearm parts are banned outright, so gun retailers need a different processor.

Gambling based in the US is banned outright regardless of licensing, overriding the restricted path that exists for legal gambling elsewhere.

Descramblers, decryption tools and signal jammers are banned outright.

Sellers of adult products can be onboarded, but Adyen asks for extra documentation before approval, and fetish items are carved out into a separate prohibited line.

BNPL and installment providers face extra documentation as direct merchants, and they are prohibited entirely when selling through a platform or marketplace.

Collection agencies can apply as direct merchants with extra documentation, but they are prohibited when operating through a platform or marketplace.

Wallet and e-money products whose balances can leave the virtual world need extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Money services businesses, including virtual currency operations and check cashing, face extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Businesses collecting fines or penalties, such as parking or toll enforcement, need extra documentation before Adyen will onboard them.

Life insurance sellers face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited when selling through a platform or marketplace.

Non-life insurance, such as property or travel coverage, is a restricted category requiring extra documentation before onboarding.

Money transmitters can apply as direct merchants with extra review, but they are prohibited when operating through a platform.

Payroll and invoicing service providers face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Prepaid card and stored-value sellers need extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited when selling through a platform.

Crowdfunding platforms and campaigns need extra documentation before Adyen will onboard them.

Nonprofits can be onboarded but must supply extra documentation during Adyen's review.

Airlines face extra documentation as direct merchants because of long delivery windows, and they are prohibited when sold through a platform.

Ancestry and genealogy research services need extra documentation before onboarding.

Art dealers and galleries face extra documentation, reflecting high ticket sizes and money-laundering exposure in the art trade.

Traditional auction houses can be onboarded with extra documentation and review.

Casual dating sites face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited when operating through a platform.

Vehicle rental, sales, importing and parts businesses need extra documentation before onboarding.

Hosting, VPN and file-sharing services need extra documentation, while cyber lockers Adyen deems high risk fall under a separate outright ban.

Cruise operators face extra documentation, reflecting the long gap between payment and travel.

Direct-marketing models including telemarketing, catalog sales, travel arrangement and door-to-door sales need extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Dropshipping stores can be onboarded but must pass extra documentation and review first.

Government service payments, such as embassy or consulate fees, need extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Business-to-business sales of hazardous materials, a list that explicitly includes peptides and research chemicals, need extra documentation before onboarding.

Medical providers, including online doctor and telehealth services, can be onboarded after supplying extra documentation.

Luxury fashion retailers need extra documentation, reflecting fraud and counterfeit exposure in high-ticket goods.

Broadly defined internet product and service companies face extra documentation before onboarding.

Jewelry and precious-metal retailers need extra documentation before onboarding.

Live-streaming platforms without an in-app currency can be onboarded after extra documentation.

Streaming services with donation features need extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited when operating through a platform.

Sellers of medical and hospital equipment need extra documentation before onboarding.

Med spas offering cosmetic medical treatments can be onboarded after extra documentation and review.

Standard supplements and nutraceuticals are a restricted category, so sellers face extra documentation rather than an automatic ban.

Supplements built on highly regulated substances such as CBD or kava kava face extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited when sold through a platform or marketplace.

Political campaigns and their fundraising need extra documentation before onboarding.

Real estate service businesses can be onboarded after supplying extra documentation.

Psychic, clairvoyance and horoscope services face extra documentation before onboarding.

Social-cause and religious campaigning organizations need extra documentation before onboarding.

Services that exist solely to collect tips face extra documentation before onboarding.

Ticket sellers and resellers need extra documentation before onboarding.

Timeshare sales and maintenance-fee businesses face extra documentation before onboarding.

Travel agencies and tour operators can be onboarded after extra documentation, reflecting delayed-delivery risk in travel bookings.

Veterinary clinics need extra documentation before onboarding.

Alcohol sellers can be onboarded after extra documentation and licensing review.

Adyen's restricted path for cannabis applies only in Canada, so a US cannabis business does not fit this line and would fall under the drugs prohibition instead.

Licensed gambling and prize-based skill gaming is restricted for direct merchants and prohibited through platforms, but note that a separate line bans all US based gambling outright.

Pharmacies and sellers of prescription medicine or medical devices can be onboarded after extra documentation and licensing review.

In-person, domestic sales of tobacco and vape products are restricted, so sellers face extra documentation rather than a ban.

Online tobacco and vape sales are restricted for direct merchants and prohibited through platforms or marketplaces.

Crypto exchanges face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited when operating through a platform.

Speculative trading products such as CFDs, ICOs and forex or crypto options need extra review as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Brokerages and investment purchase services face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Marketplace and platform aggregators need extra documentation as direct merchants and cannot themselves ride on another platform's Adyen account.

Digital wallet operators face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited when nested under another platform.

Payment facilitators and similar payment service providers need extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.

Peer-to-peer payment, bill-pay and commissary account services face extra documentation as direct merchants and are prohibited through platforms.