Prohibited Merchant Categories
The following merchants are not acceptable in our bankcard program. Any merchant selling illegal, or Card Brand damaging products and services, is prohibited. This list of Prohibited Merchant Categories may be amended by WAB without advance notice.

Financial and professional services
•Any form of gambling; lotteries; bidding fee auctions; sports forecasting or odds making; fantasy sports leagues with cash prizes; internet gaming; contests; sweepstakes; games of chance
•Medical benefits packages, medical discount clubs
•Pay day loans, auto title lending, cash advances
•Online auctions
•Coupons either in electronic or paper format
•Extended warranties regardless of time period
•Timeshare sales and advertising
•Mortgage& loan modification, foreclosure protection & guarantees
•Mortgage consulting, debt reduction, credit counseling and credit repair or restructuring
•Financial aid applications, scholarships, student loan advising or loan consolidation services
•Virtual currency / E-cash merchants: Virtual currencies that can be monetized, resold, or converted to physical or digital products and services or otherwise exit the virtual world (e.g., Bitcoin); sale of stored value or credits maintained, accepted and issued by anyone other than the seller.
•Money Service Business (MSB): Money transmitters; check cashing; wire transfers; money orders; currencyexchanges or dealers.
•Replica, counterfeit IP or trademark infringing products: counterfeit or unauthorized goods; unauthorized sale orresale of brand name or designer products or services; sale of goods or services that are illegally imported or exported; online streaming or downloadable products that may infringe on the content provider/producer.
•Vacation Rentals
•Stock trading / stock training / stock opportunities

Technology Services/Internet
•Web design of any type
•Age restricted products (Internet), age verification products
•Intellectual property or proprietary rights infringement
•Social media activity: Sale of Twitter followers, Facebook likes, YouTube views, and other forms of social media activity
•Tech support help (online), inbound or outbound; membership or not: exception see restricted
•Computer repair online
•ID theft protection, products, and solutions.

Unfair, predatory, or deceptive practices
•Business Investment Opportunities: Get rich quick seminars; real estate opportunities; services that promise high returns; pyramid schemes.
•Driver’s license renewal & DMV information and assistance not offered by state-licensed entities.
•Selling subscriptions or information that is available for free from governmental entities.
•Merchants up-selling or cross-selling products of other merchants, sharing of credit card numbers
•Products that make false claims about effectiveness or provide unreasonable guarantees regardless of product type
• Background check companies
• Merchants that facilitate the publication and removal of content (such as complaints, neighborhood watch, mug shots), where the primary purpose of posting such content is to cause or raise concerns of reputational harm
• Government grants: writing of, information on, or selling of otherwise free information
• Guarantees, warranties or refund periods lasting more than (90) days after sale; extended home and/or auto warranties not offered by manufacturer.
• Lead list or data mining companies
• How-to books or subscriptions or online access for any prohibited product or services.
• No-value-added services: Sale or resale of a service without added benefit to the buyer; resale of government offerings without authorization or added value; any web sites that WAB determine in their sole discretion to be unfair, deceptive, or predatory towards consumers.
• Magazine sales.
• Any product that is sold in a continuity model where the product is a part of an upsell and not the main product.

Products or services that are otherwise prohibited by WAB
• Any and all products, derivatives, mention of, or possible use with, or for Marijuana.
• No sales of Marijuana, or distillate or any product that can be used in conjunction with marijuana. This includes hardware, software and advertising.
• Any firearm as defined by the ATF (ATF.gov), any part of a firearm, and any accessory whether affixed to the firearm or used as a custom ad on.
• Nicotine delivery systems (eCigarettes, hookahs, bongs, etc.) and e-juice, whether store front or Internet based
• Accounts selling products online without a dedicated website
• Recurring billing greater than ninety (90) days; semi-annual or annual billing
• Advance sales or billing for services more than 90 days in advance
• Charities without proof of 501(c)(3) status
• Dating services and escort Services
• Travel clubs
• Drug paraphernalia of any form (head shops, bongs, water pipes)
• Internet Payment Service Providers that are aggregate billing for other merchants
• Substances designed to mimic illegal drugs: Sale of a legal substance that provides the same effect as an illegal drug (e.g., synthetic steroids)
• Keyed precious metal and stamp collection
• Merchants in an excessive chargeback or fraud reduction program and with chargeback or fraud rate over 1%
• Merchants or principals listed on MATCH or identified by Card Brands for deceptive practices or Rules violation for any reason
• Non-U.S. Citizen Principals – exception Canada; however, business and bank account must be physically located in U.S.A.
• Online pharmacy, medical marijuana, or prescription drugs or compounding (see restricted for compounding exception)
• Sales of products and services that are illegal, deceptive or are considered brand damaging by the card associations.
• Tobacco via Internet/MOTO
• Aggregation: Engaging in any form of licensed or unlicensed aggregation of funds owed to third parties, factoring, or other activities intended to obfuscate the origin of funds
• Pseudo pharmaceuticals: Pharmaceuticals and other products that make health claims that have not been approved or verified by the applicable local and/or national regulatory body
•Use of payment system where there is no bona fide goods or service sold or donation accepted; card testing orwhose purpose is to evade any Card Brand chargeback monitoring programs.
•Merchants selling adult/pornographic related products/toys whether online or storefront.
•Strip clubs or bars and restaurants that regularly provide adult entertainment, predominately in the form of striptease or other erotic dances.
•Airlines / cruise lines
•Trial Offer Merchants with continuity (recurring payments).
•Medical: Any telemedicine merchant selling prescriptions online must be certified by LegitScript and sell only to states where they are registered to do so. The merchant may only sell general prescriptions and not any scheduleddrug nor may the merchant be tied to any continuity sales. Any merchant will be subject to enhanced underwriting and risk requirements.
•Any product which states that is can change or enhance a person’s physical being. See “otherwise prohibited “.
•Merchants selling products through eBay
•Electronic products (primarily large ticket) sold over the Internet

Restricted Merchant Categories
These merchant categories pose elevated financial risk, legal liability and/or reputational risk. WAB requires enhanced due diligence to ensure financial strength and adherence to the Card Brand rules. Historically, the Restricted Merchants have been exceptions to our Prohibited List for ISO’s accepting full liability and who have demonstrated an ability to provide WAB with sufficient enhanced due diligence, monitoring, and reporting. Any Restricted Merchants approved by ISO must be fully documented.

•Merchants selling online adult content – membership, pay per view, virtual currency credits. This merchant typemay be suspended from further acceptance based on the concentration of merchant type with the bank.
•Merchants accepting payment for adult entertainment – membership, pay per view, virtual currency credits. This merchant type may be suspended from further acceptance based on the concentration of merchant type with thebank.
•Advance sales such as annuals, or billing for services more than 90 days in advance. Enhanced due diligence is required.
•Travel Clubs if well established and affiliated with USA Theme Parks (Disney) or other USA well-known destinations – typically involve complete travel packages and not connected to time shares sales or advertising.Travel agent fees are limited but this restriction does not apply to concierge accounts. This does not include MLMtravel nor small venue travel to desitations near major parks.
•Collection Agencies / Debit Collections (collection of any loans prohibited – other than credit card debt)Collections are limited to specific ISO and require enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring.
•Electronic cigarette sales: Internet or keyed
•Multi-level or network marketing (limited market vertical)
•Merchant with multiple MATCH inquiries
•Alcohol sales (MOTO – wine clubs acceptable under specific conditions)
•Furniture over the internet
•Insurance brokers that collect premiums for the insurance carriers
•Venture capital funded start-up businesses
•Phone cards, rechargeable and non-rechargeable, cellular phone air time: these can be acceptable if merchant has a storefront location(s) & limited to small volume MIDs ($10k/mo.)
•Tech support online can be acceptable if merchant has a storefront location(s) with remote access support
•Merchant with over 1% chargebacks but at or under 80 combined association chargebacks, must come with chargeback reduction plan
•Group set ups: head quarter account with sub accounts that have direct to bank merchant agreements for associations etc.
•Compounding pharmacies if selling business to business (B2B) and then only on a case by case basis. Verticalrequires enhanced due diligence and registration
•Gateway / Transaction Aggregators – Typically involve a Headquarters MID that is used to aggregate sales activity. Settlement of sales must go directly to Merchant providing the product and/or service (no third party billing companies).