Payments · Fitness5 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Do PayPal and Square Allow Fitness Products?

PayPal and Square don't name fitness. PayPal targets steroids and safety risks; Square targets subscriptions, infomercials and upsells.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 8 sources

Article summary

Not named, with limits

TL;DR

Neither names fitness equipment or sports nutrition. PayPal bans "steroids" and other "products that present a risk to consumer safety", and can hold a balance for up to 180 days. Square's risk is the sales model: it excludes subscription offers, infomercial sales and "up-sell merchants". Gym equipment sold one order at a time fits both best.

PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy (last updated October 29, 2022) bans "narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety".
PayPal can hold funds "for up to 180 days" against liability or after a policy breach (User Agreement updated September 14, 2026).
Square's US terms (updated July 30, 2026) exclude "direct marketing or subscription offers or services", "infomercial sales" and "up-sell merchants".
Neither company names gym equipment, protein or pre-workout.

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On this page

This guide is part of our hub on fitness payment processing. The general guide, for any business: high-risk merchant accounts. Processor by processor: PayPal for high-risk businesses and Square for high-risk businesses.

PayPal vs. Square for fitness brands

	PayPal	Square (US)
Fitness named?	No1	No4
Gym equipment, one-time orders	NoSpecific rule	NoSpecific rule
Sports nutrition	Judged on consumer safety; steroids banned1	NoSpecific rule
Subscriptions and refills	Possible; judged on disputes	ExposedTo "direct marketing or subscription offers or services"4
TV or video-led funnels with upsells	Judged on disputes and claims	ExposedTo "infomercial sales" and "up-sell merchants"4
Funds after a problem	Held "for up to 180 days"2	Payouts can be deferred or restricted4

PayPal: safety, holds and reserves

PayPal doesn't list supplements, protein or equipment. The clause that matters for sports nutrition is about safety: "narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety"1.

Narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety

PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, updated October 29, 2022

What puts a fitness account in that line:

Ingredients the FDA treats as illegal. For DMAA, the FDA says "DMAA-containing products marketed as dietary supplements are illegal and their marketing violates the law"5.
Steroids and controlled substances, which the clause names outright1. More on what's legal: is it legal to sell fitness products online?
Disputes rising faster than sales, common with late or damaged equipment deliveries.

Holds and reserves

Type	How it works
Hold	The balance can be held "for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability or if you have violated our Acceptable Use Policy" (User Agreement)2
Rolling reserve	A share of each sale held back; PayPal's example: "10% and held for a 90-day rolling period" (User Agreement)2
Minimum or jumpstart reserve	A balance kept in the account, reviewed periodically (PayPal)3

PayPal also warns that "you might never be able to fully remove a reserve from your account"3.

Fig. 1How PayPal can hold a fitness brand's money

Hold
The balance can be held for up to 180 days against liability or after a policy breach.
Rolling reserve
PayPal's example: 10% held for a 90-day rolling period.
Minimum or jumpstart reserve
A balance kept in the account, reviewed periodically.

Know which one you're under before you plan cash.

PayPal User Agreement, September 14, 2026, and PayPal on account reserves.

Square: the sales model is the risk

Square's US Payment Terms list businesses it doesn't support. None is a fitness product. Four are fitness sales models4:

"(6) direct marketing or subscription offers or services"
"(7) infomercial sales"
"(13) up-sell merchants"
"(20) high-risk products and services, including telemarketing sales"

A gym equipment shop taking one-time orders, online or in person, isn't in any of them. A protein brand on auto-ship, or a funnel that sells a machine then stacks upsells, sits close to items 6 and 13.

Fig. 2Which Square item each fitness sales model touches

A fitness brand on SquareSame products, different ways of selling

Protein on auto-shipItem 6: direct marketing or subscription offers or services
Machine, then stacked upsellsItem 13: up-sell merchants
TV or video-led funnelItem 7: infomercial sales
Equipment, one-time ordersNo item touched

Square Payment Terms (US), updated July 30, 2026.

Watch out

Square can defer payouts or restrict access to your proceeds, and hold funds while chargebacks are pending4. Merchants on Square's community forum describe deactivation notices with little explanation. Don't make it your only processor for subscriptions.

How to use them

Keep PayPal as a payment method in your checkout, next to a card processor that has reviewed your brand.
Use Square for one-time sales, such as equipment sold in person or at events, not for online auto-ship4.
Keep claims out of the "dramatic results" zone: the FTC says such testimonials "are likely to be deceptive" and "Results not typical" doesn't fix them6.
Show subscription terms before payment. Visa requires a reminder at least 7 days before a trial ends and online cancellation7.
Withdraw balances regularly, so a hold covers less.

Based on PayPal's and Square's terms, FTC guidance and Visa's trial rules.

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments.

Which methods to offer: payment methods for fitness brands. How reserves compare elsewhere: fitness processing fees and reserves.

How Tagada helps

PayPal at checkout, an underwritten processor for fitness behind it

Enhanced review for regulated verticals: "If you sell something real, we will get you paid." "One KYC. One signed package. We distribute it across our processor network and follow up so you don't have to."8
Routing: "Automatic cascade, weighted routing, sticky MID", so a pause at one processor doesn't stop sales8: the cascade goes to another processor only when one is down or times out, never after a bank decline.
Subscriptions with retries and automatic recovery, on a vault you own: "Export your vault, cards, and customers anytime."8
Methods: "40+ Local payment methods" and "135+ currencies"8

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PayPal at checkout, an underwritten processor for fitness behind it

Updated on November 2, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell supplements and pre-workout with PayPal?

PayPal doesn't name them. It bans "steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety". A pre-workout with lawful ingredients and claims isn't named; one with an ingredient the FDA calls illegal, such as DMAA, falls under the safety line.

Does Square allow fitness equipment?

Yes. Square's US terms don't name fitness or gym equipment. The exclusions that can touch a fitness brand are about the model: subscription offers, infomercial sales, up-sell merchants and high-risk products.

Why did Square deactivate my supplement or fitness shop?

Square rarely gives details. Its terms exclude subscription offers, up-sell merchants and "high-risk products and services", and allow it to defer or restrict payouts. Check which of those your offer resembles before applying elsewhere.

How long can PayPal hold my money?

Up to 180 days under the User Agreement, when needed against liability or after a policy breach. Reserves are separate: in PayPal's example, 10% of each sale held on a 90-day rolling basis, and PayPal says a reserve may never be fully removed.

Sources

Checked November 2, 2026

TagadaPay

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