Prohibited and Restricted Businesses

Sales: +1 (800) 357-0402

LAST UPDATED JAN 27, 2026.

Prohibited and Restricted
Businesses

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We’ve made important updates to the list of restricted and prohibited businesses. Here’s what you need to know:

A new section outlining country-specific restrictions and prohibitions for Indonesia has been added.

Several local prohibitions in Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, India, and Thailand have also been updated.

Additionally, we’ve introduced a new section detailing restrictions and prohibitions for TangentoPay Capital products.

Why this page exists

TangentoPay builds economic infrastructure for the internet that enables businesses to accept payments and access other financial services. We want to make it easier for businesses of all kinds—from large enterprises to small businesses—to start, run, and grow. We aim for our platform to be broadly accessible, just like other forms of infrastructure, such as roads or telecommunications networks. Crucially, in the area of political expression, we want to avoid becoming an arbiter of what speech is legitimate. At TangentoPay, we do not restrict access to our services based on political viewpoints or affiliation. As a financial services company, we have to adhere to financial laws and regulations, as well as rules and policies set by our financial partners, such as card networks and banking partners. This means we aren’t able to support some businesses, even if we might desire to do so.

How to use this page

This page provides information on the types of businesses, products, and industries that can’t use TangentoPay’s services. To use TangentoPay’s services, you must remain compliant with these rules and restrictions.

High-Risk Jurisdictions and Persons

Use of TangentoPay's services for any dealings, engagement, or sale of goods or services either directly or indirectly with the following are prohibited:

i. High-risk jurisdictions

Persons located in, resident in, or a citizen of, or products or services originating from jurisdictions that TangentoPay has determined for various reasons, including legal, contractual, and commercial reasons, to be prohibited, including, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions.

ii. High-risk persons

Persons TangentoPay has determined for various reasons, including legal, contractual, and commercial reasons, to be prohibited, such as those individuals or entities named to a restricted person or party list of, or otherwise restricted by, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or United Nations, including the sanctions maintained by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control or the Denied Persons List or Entity List maintained by the US Department of Commerce. Additionally, it's prohibited to use TangentoPay's products and services to directly or indirectly:

ii. High-risk persons

iii. Prohibited services

Export, re-export, sell, or supply accounting services; trust and corporate formation services; management consulting services; architecture services; engineering services; quantum computing services; information technology (IT) consultancy and design services; and IT-support services and cloud-based services for enterprise management software and design and manufacturing software to any person located in Russia. In the European Union and the United Kingdom, it is prohibited to use TangentoPay's products and services, directly or indirectly, to provide credit-rating services, market research and public relations services, advertising services, auditing services, or legal advisory services to any person located in Russia.

iv. Prohibited goods

Deal in any goods prohibited by law for export to or import from Russia (for example, luxury goods, sensitive goods included in the Common High Priority Items List, enterprise management software and design software).

Prohibited Businesses

You must not use TangentoPay's services for any illegal activities or for the businesses or product types listed below. The types of businesses listed here are representative of prohibited categories, but this is not an exhaustive list.

Any illegal products and services

Illegal drugs, substances designed to mimic illegal drugs, including kava

Equipment and items intended to be used for making or using drugs

Fake references or ID-providing services

Telecommunications manipulation equipment, including jamming devices

Businesses that engage in, encourage, promote, or celebrate unlawful violence or physical harm to persons or property

Businesses that engage in, encourage, promote, or celebrate unlawful violence toward any group based on race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other immutable characteristic

Any other products or services that are in violation of law in the jurisdictions where your business is located or to which your business is targeted

Adult content and services

Adult services, including prostitution, escorts, pay-per-view, sexual massages, fetish services, mail-order brides, and adult live-chat features

Adult video stores

Gentleman's clubs, topless bars, and strip clubs

Pornography and other mature audience content (including literature, imagery, and other media) designed for the purpose of sexual gratification

Any artificial-intelligence generated content that meets the above criteria

Debt relief companies

Debt settlement, debt negotiation, and debt consolidation

The following financial products and services

ATMs

Check cashing

Debt collection agencies

Funded prop trading

Money orders and traveler's checks

Peer-to-peer money transmission

Selling bearer shares

Shell banks

Gambling

Games of chance including gambling, internet gambling, casino games, sweepstakes and contests, and fantasy sports leagues with a monetary or material prize

Games of skill including video game and mobile game tournaments or competitions, darts, card games, and board games with a monetary or material prize

Payments of an entry or player fee that promise the entrant or player will win a prize of value

Sports forecasting or odds-making with a monetary or material prize

Lotteries

Bidding fee auctions

Government services

Offering products and services by or on behalf of embassies and consulates

Offering government services without authorization or value-add

Offering government services with misleading claims

Disbursement of government economic support, such as grants

Identity services

Identity theft protection services including monitoring and recovery

Illegal weapons, explosives, and dangerous materials

Illegal weapons and accessories

Improperly marked replicas of modern firearms, including toys

Pesticides requiring application by a certified professional

Research chemicals

Toxic, flammable, combustible, or radioactive materials

Unmailable goods, per the United States Postal Service

Products and services that infringe on intellectual property rights

Sales or distribution of music, movies, software, or any other licensed materials without appropriate authorization

Counterfeit goods

Illegally imported or exported products

Unauthorized sale of brand-name or designer products or services

Any other products or services that directly infringe or facilitate infringement upon the trademark, patent, copyright, trade secrets, proprietary, or privacy rights of any third party

The following legal services

Bankruptcy attorneys

Bail bonds

Law firms collecting funds for purposes other than legal service fee payment

Lending and credit

Loan repayments with credit cards

Credit monitoring, credit repair, and counseling services

Marijuana

Cannabis products

Cannabis dispensaries and related businesses

CBD products with THC levels greater than the applicable local jurisdiction's legal limit, including CBD edibles

Hydroponic equipment and other cultivation or production equipment marketed for growing marijuana

Courses and information on cultivating marijuana

Nutraceuticals and pseudo-pharmaceuticals

Pseudo-pharmaceuticals or nutraceuticals that are not safe or make harmful claims

Nonfiat currency

Cryptocurrency mining and staking

Initial coin offerings (ICOs)

Secondary NFT sales

Travel

Commercial airlines and cruises

Charter and private airlines

Timeshare services

Unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (acts or practices that contravene rules, laws, regulations, or guidance prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or other local consumer regulatory bodies)

Pyramid schemes

Multilevel marketing services offering commission or recruitment-based sales

"Get rich quick" schemes, including investment opportunities or other services that promise high rewards to mislead consumers; schemes that claim to offer high rewards for very little effort or up-front work; and sites that promise fast and easy money

Businesses that make outrageous claims, use deceptive testimonials, use high-pressure upselling, or use fake testimonials (with or without a written contract)

Businesses offering unrealistic incentives or rewards as an inducement to purchase products or services

No-value-added services, including the sale or resale of a service without added benefit to the buyer and resale of government offerings without authorization or added value

Sales of online traffic or engagement

Negative option marketing, negative option membership clubs, and reduced price trials with unclear or hidden pricing

Telemarketing

Predatory mortgage consulting

Suspicious remote technical support

Door-to-door sales

Document falsification services

Any other businesses that TangentoPay considers unfair, deceptive, or predatory towards consumers

Restricted Businesses

Businesses in these categories require additional due diligence by TangentoPay in order to confirm our ability to support them. When you create your TangentoPay account, you will be asked to provide additional information (such as proof of relevant licenses or more details about your business model) to confirm your eligibility to use TangentoPay. Due to card network rules, requirements of financial partners, and our own compliance and legal obligations, if your business falls into one of the categories below, TangentoPay might not be able to grant approval for your business to use our products. If we do provide approval, note that the approval is specific to each service offer, and it may be modified or revoked by TangentoPay at any time per the terms of the TangentoPay Services Agreement.

The types of businesses listed below are representative of our restricted businesses but not exhaustive.

Content creation platforms

Platforms that host or distribute third-party content and enable content creators to:

Receive content-related tips and other payments in exchange for their content

Sell exclusive content or digital goods

Note: Individual content creators on approved platforms (for example, connected accounts of an approved TangentoPay Connect user) and those directly distributing their own content (for example, on their own website) do not require preapproval. However, all content creators must comply with the TangentoPay Services Agreement and this Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list (which, for example, prohibits the sale of adult content and personal or peer-to-peer money transmission) and are subject to monitoring by TangentoPay to ensure compliance.

Crowdfunding and fundraising

Fundraising conducted by nonprofits, charities, political organizations, and businesses offering a reward in return for donation

Crowdfunding platforms (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay.)

Equity crowdfunding (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay. Note: Supported in Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Prohibited in all other countries.)

Charity sweepstakes and raffles for the explicit purpose of fundraising (Note: Supported in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Prohibited in all other countries.)

Organizations fundraising for a charitable purpose (Note: Supported in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Prohibited in all other countries.)

Dating

Online dating and matchmaking services (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay. Note: Specific prohibitions apply in India, United Arab Emirates, and Thailand.)

Cyberlockers

Cyberlocker and file-sharing services

Regulated industries

Cannabidiol (CBD)

CBD products containing only negligible amounts of THC, per local limits

Cryptocurrency (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay.)

Cryptocurrency (for example, Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, etc.) exchanges and wallets. For crypto and NFT support and availability by region, please see crypto supportability.

Financial products and services (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay.)

Investment and brokerage services, including real estate--based investments

Lending services, including real estate loans

Bank account funding

Buy now, pay later services

Money transmitters, remittances, currency exchange services, and other money service businesses

Escrow services

Neobanks or challenger banks

Other financial services

Legal firearms and other weapons (Limited availability: Please contact our sales team if you would like to work with TangentoPay. In countries where a firearm or weapon is illegal, we will continue to treat it as prohibited.)

Firearms, including rifles, shotguns, and pistols

Regulated firearm parts and accessories, such as suppressors

Other weapons not listed above (e.g., stun guns, swords not meant as replicas, pepper spray, machetes)

Pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and telemedicine

Online pharmacies, including SaaS platforms

Card-not-present prescription-only products and pharmaceuticals

Prescription-only and regulated medical devices

Prescription delivery services

Telemedicine and telehealth services

Tobacco

Tobacco products including e-cigarettes, cigars, and e-liquid

Herbal cigarettes

Production equipment specifically marketed for the production of tobacco products

Nonfiat currency and stored value

First-party non-fungible tokens (NFTs) minting and sales, including marketplaces and SaaS platforms

High-value precious metals and stones

Sale of stored value or credits maintained, accepted, and issued by anyone other than the seller. Seller-maintained stored value or credits may be subject to limits.

Sale of in-game currency or game items, unless the business is the operator of the virtual world

Preloaded payment cards, gift cards, virtual credits, or other products and services in which a monetary value is stored within the item (digital or physical)

Third-party agents

Payment facilitation and aggregation (including receiving settlement proceeds for goods or services that you did not provide, on behalf of one or multiple third-party sellers)

Businesses that might pose elevated financial risk

Travel

Travel reservation services and clubs

In-flight purchases

To learn more about TangentoPay's approach to prohibited businesses and why some businesses aren't allowed to use TangentoPay's services, you can read our support page about business limitations.

Jurisdiction-specific prohibited businesses

Brazil	Genital and nipple jewelry Genital prosthetics Sex accessories and lifelike sex toys
Canada	Alcohol (Restricted) Mortgage consulting
India	Airbags Alcohol Captive insurance companies Cash couriers Charities Chit funds Crossborder jewelry sales Currency exchange Currency transportation Dating and matchmaking services Gambling equipment Genital prosthetics Junket operators Lobby groups and political organizations Mining and oil drilling and refining Non-profit organizations (NPO) Personal investment vehicles/companies Religious organizations Sex accessories and sex toys Trust service providers Unlicensed financial institutions
Indonesia	(Prohibited = P, Restricted = R) Alcohol R Insurance R Live chat / streaming R Live stock R Packaged food and cosmetics R Pilgrimage / Umrah tour packages R Precious metals and jewelry R Products requiring national-standard certification R
Japan	Advisory services related to drop shipping and the resale of goods Animals C2C services outside of TangentoPay Connect Consultation and advisory or prediction services relating to online gaming or gambling Consultation or advisory services providing guidance, information or tools on how to profit through trading or investments in financial products or cryptocurrency or running a resale or dropshipping business Donations to individuals Fundraising for or financing of businesses that are listed above as prohibited or restricted Genital and nipple jewelry Genital prosthetics Health instruments Industrial waste disposal and garbage disposal devices and water purifiers International marriage brokerage businesses Mortgage consulting Private investigators or protection services Psychic services and fortune tellers Sex accessories and lifelike sex toys Businesses without a “Commercial Disclosure” page on their website as required by the Specified Commercial Transactions Act (SCT)
Malaysia	Genital and nipple jewelry Genital prosthetics Matchmaking Sex accessories or sex toys
Mexico	Adoption agencies Cross-border currency exchange services Debt collection agencies Direct marketing travel Electronic cigarettes for card-not-present transactions Ephedrine Game console modification devices Genital and nipple jewelry Genital prosthetics HCG weight loss Investment services Lifelike sex toys Penny auctions Private investigators or protection services Psychic services and fortune tellers Search engine optimization Telemedicine
Singapore	Genital and nipple jewelry Sale of ads for any products or services deemed illegal in Singapore—sales of products that facilitate payments to any of these products or services Sex accessories or sex toys
Thailand	(Prohibited = P, Restricted = R) Alcohol P Bodyguard services P Charities P Dating services P Food and cosmetics R Historical artifacts P Hotels, tour operators, and transportation services R Insurance R New vehicle sales P Private investigators or detective agencies P Psychic services and fortune tellers P Timeshares P Vehicle sales P Vitamins P
United Arab Emirates	Gambling equipment Genital prosthetics Historical artifacts, ivory products, prison-made products Private investigators or detective agencies Matchmaking services Sex accessories or sex toys
United States	Extended warranties Medical benefit packages not offered by a government or health insurance company Mortgage consulting Shipping brokers and freight forwarders, without prior authorization from TangentoPay

Prohibited Uses of TangentoPay Products

Use of TangentoPay products with false, manipulated, inaccurate, or misleading information regarding your identity, business entity, the nature of the business, and any other information requested by TangentoPay

If there are any changes to your personal and business information, you must notify TangentoPay immediately

Use of TangentoPay products to facilitate transactions on behalf of another undisclosed merchant or for products or services that weren't disclosed in the business's TangentoPay account application

Use of TangentoPay principally as a virtual terminal (for example, submitting card transactions by manually inputting card information)

Processing where there is no bona fide good or service sold, or donation accepted; card testing

Evasion of card network chargeback monitoring programs

Cross-border acquiring where the business address of the merchant is outside of the jurisdiction of the acquiring TangentoPay entity, unless permitted under the card network rules

Sharing cardholder information with another business for payment of cross-sell of products or services

Use of TangentoPay intellectual property without prior written consent from TangentoPay; use of the TangentoPay name or logo including use of TangentoPay trade or service marks inconsistent with the TangentoPay Marks Usage Terms , or in a manner that otherwise harms TangentoPay or the TangentoPay brand; any action that implies an untrue endorsement by, or affiliation, with TangentoPay

Prohibitions for TangentoPay Issuing products

You must not use TangentoPay Issuing for the following activities.

Consumer use

Consumer use of TangentoPay Issuing is when an Issuing card is created to fully or partially enable payments for personal, family, or household use, including:

Providing a payment method loaded with or that accesses consumer funds

Cards that disburse payroll or payouts

Any other uses that directly or indirectly enable payments using the consumer's funds

International use

When you sign up for TangentoPay Issuing, you share with TangentoPay the location of your business, the physical address of your beneficial owners, and the jurisdiction in which your business is registered. TangentoPay requires that the physical location of your business, its jurisdiction of registration, and the physical address of at least one of your beneficial owners all match. Furthermore, you must use Issuing cards primarily in the same jurisdiction.

Lending use

You can't use TangentoPay Issuing as a method to extend credit to your customers using your own funds, unless you have the appropriate licensing to do so and you have received express consent from TangentoPay to use Issuing for that purpose.

Other abusive use

Any other abusive use of TangentoPay Issuing, including:

Using Issuing cards to abuse free-trial products at scale

Using Issuing cards to buy in-demand items or services with the sole intent to sell them for profit (for example, retail scalping)

Using Issuing cards for any other illegitimate purposes

Noncompliance

As a user of TangentoPay Issuing, you must comply with our US compliance guidelines (or see the EU- and UK-specific guidelines), and our compliance teams might ask you to update your marketing materials or aspects of your user experience. This helps to make sure that both you and TangentoPay continue to comply with federal, state, or any equivalent local or country-specific laws and regulations that govern the use of these financial products. Failure to comply within the requested time frames might result in the closure of your TangentoPay account.

Inactivity

If there is inactivity on all cards associated with an account for a period of 12 consecutive months, TangentoPay automatically closes your Issuing account.

Integration type

If you plan to enable your customers to use TangentoPay Issuing for purposes of creating cards for your customers' employees or contractors, you must implement TangentoPay Issuing on Connect (for example, if you're a platform that wants to enable your customers to create cards for their employees to use for business travel or marketing expenses, you must create a Connect account for each of your customers). Please consult TangentoPay if you have any questions regarding the correct integration type for your business.

TangentoPay Capital restricted business types

TangentoPay Capital is currently not available to businesses that are not for-profit or operate in certain restricted industries, such as speculation-based industries, gambling, or religious institutions. Additional restrictions might apply to government and utility businesses.

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Apply for Internship

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Partner With Us

WordPress Plugin

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Our SDKS

Visit Docs

Plugins Guide

Services and SDKs

Security Considerations

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Android Application

IOs Application

News & Updates

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IOs Application

News & Updates

Help & Support

Apply for Internship

Job Openings

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Partner With Us