Payments · Info Products10 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Info Product Payment Processing

Which processors accept online courses, coaching and info products, the claims and disputes that close accounts, and how to build a stable setup.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 19 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

Online courses, coaching and ebooks are not on Stripe's, PayPal's, Shopify Payments' or Square's prohibited lists. What closes accounts is the promise: income claims, "get rich quick" offers, fake testimonials, pressure upsells. The second risk is proof. When a buyer disputes a course, your login records are your only evidence of delivery.

Stripe's US restricted list names no "course" or "coaching" line, but prohibits "get rich quick" schemes and "deceptive testimonials" (read November 2, 2026).
Visa dispute condition 13.5 names "Business opportunities in which the Merchant suggests that an income will be generated" (rules of October 24, 2026).
No education MCC (8299, 8241) appears in Visa's high-risk integrity program; negative-option subscriptions (5968) do (2023 guide).
Since April 1, 2026, Visa flags a US merchant at a 1.5% fraud and dispute ratio.
In April 2026 the FTC announced a $1.5 million settlement with a self-publishing course seller over earnings claims, and it approved the final order on July 2, 2026.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

This page is the hub for info product payments: courses, coaching, memberships and ebooks. The general guide, for any business: high-risk merchant accounts. The checkout and funnel side is in our guide to the best ecommerce platform for info product sellers.

Is an info product business high risk?

Not by category. A course or an ebook is a normal digital sale. Processors raise the risk level for three things: high ticket prices, income promises, and delivery that is hard to prove.

What you sell	How processors tend to read it	Where the risk comes from
Courses, ebooks, templates (one-time, under a few hundred dollars)	Ordinary digital goods, MCC 8299 or 58156	Friendly fraud, "not as described" refunds
Coaching programs and masterminds (high ticket, payment plans)	Elevated review, often a reserve	Large card-not-present sales, long delivery windows, disputes months later7
"Make money online" programs (ecommerce, trading, passive income)	Refused by mainstream processors when the offer promises income1 2	Earnings claims, Visa 13.5, FTC enforcement7 11

The same course can move between rows. A sales page that says "learn video editing" sits in row one. The same course sold as "quit your job in 90 days" sits in row three.

Fig. 1Three levels of risk, from the same kind of course

Courses, ebooks, templatesOrdinary digital goods, MCC 8299 or 5815Friendly fraud, "not as described" refunds
Coaching programs and mastermindsElevated review, often a reserveLarge card-not-present sales, long delivery windows, disputes months later
"Make money online" programsRefused by mainstream processors when the offer promises incomeEarnings claims, Visa 13.5, FTC enforcement

The sales page, not the subject, moves a course up the scale.

Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual, April 2026; Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026; Stripe and PayPal policies.

What Stripe, PayPal, Shopify Payments and Square say

None of the four names online courses or coaching. All four target the offer around them.

Provider	Courses and coaching	Line that applies to info products
Stripe	Not named1	"Get rich quick" schemes; "Businesses that make outrageous claims, use deceptive testimonials, use high-pressure upselling or use fake testimonials"1
PayPal	Not named2	Prohibits "pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other 'get rich quick' schemes or certain multi-level marketing programs"2
Shopify Payments	Not named4	"The list of prohibited products and services isn't exhaustive and it varies depending on your region"4
Square (US)	Not named5	Excludes "infomercial sales", "unauthorized multi-level marketing businesses" and "up-sell merchants"5

Stripe also prohibits "Negative option marketing, negative option membership clubs and reduced price trials with unclear or hidden pricing"1. That line reaches course memberships sold through a cheap first month. On PayPal, Seller Protection covers intangible goods only under extra conditions, and excludes "Significantly Not as Described" claims3.

Watch out

Acceptance at sign-up is not approval. Stripe "may terminate this Agreement or close User's Stripe Account at any time"18. Coaching sellers report closures after their first large payments.

Each provider in detail: Stripe, Shopify, PayPal and Square, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and TikTok Shop.

Course platforms or your own processor

Most creators start on a course platform. You pay a subscription, sometimes a platform fee, and card processing on top. The figures below are published list prices as of November 2026.

Platform	Monthly plan (billed monthly)	Platform transaction fee	Card processing
Kajabi	$179 to $49914	2%, 1% or 0.5% with a third-party processor, by plan14	Kajabi Payments (US): 2.9% + $0.30 to 2.7% + $0.3014
Teachable	$39 to $18915	7.5% on Starter, 0% on other plans15	US card 2.9% + 30¢; $15 per chargeback15
Podia	$49 to $17916	5% on Mover, none on higher plans16	Processor fees on top16
Whop	NoSubscription17	NoSeparate platform commission shown17	Domestic card 2.7% + $0.30; $15 per dispute17

Fig. 2Platform fee per sale, on the entry plan

Teachable Starter7.5%
Podia Mover5%
Kajabi, third-party processor2%

Source: Platform pricing pages, read November 2, 2026

Card processing comes on top.

Kajabi, Teachable and Podia pricing pages, read November 2, 2026.

A platform's built-in payments still run on an underlying processor with its own rules. If your offer breaks those rules, the platform account goes too. Costs in detail: info product processing fees and reserves.

The MCC your account will use

The merchant category code tells card networks what you sell. Your acquirer assigns it, based on your main line of business.

MCC	Visa description	Typical info product use
8299 Schools and Educational Services	"educational courses and services that are not classified with a more specific MCC"6	Most courses and coaching programs
8241 Correspondence Schools	Lessons and exams sent to the student by mail or internet6	Structured courses with assessments
5815 Digital Goods Media	Books, music, films "delivered in electronic format"6	Ebooks and digital downloads
5968 Continuity / Subscription	Subscriptions sold by direct marketing6	Not for a course membership: Visa says recurring merchants "should use the MCC that best describes their business"6

Fig. 3Which code an info product business processes under

Your info product businessThe MCC that best describes it

8299 Schools and Educational ServicesMost courses and coaching programs
8241 Correspondence SchoolsStructured courses with assessments
5815 Digital Goods MediaEbooks and digital downloads
5968 Continuity / SubscriptionNot for a course membership

Your main line of business sets the code.

Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual, April 2026.

The code describes your business. Choosing one to dodge a rule is evasion, and Visa can exclude a merchant that "Acts with the intent to circumvent Visa programs"7.

Where info product disputes come from

Three Visa dispute conditions do most of the damage. All three turn on what you promised and what you can prove.

Visa condition	What the buyer claims	What defends you
13.5 Misrepresentation	The offer suggested "an income will be generated"7	Honest sales pages; the amount is "limited to the unused portion of the cancelled service"7
13.1 Not received	The program was never delivered. Can be filed up to 120 days after the last expected delivery date, capped at 540 days7	Dated delivery records for each session or module
10.4 Fraud, card absent	"I didn't make this purchase"	For digital goods, what you sold and when, plus 2 or more of: IP address, device ID, name and email on the profile, a profile verified before the purchase, site access on or after the purchase date7

Example

You sell a 6-month coaching program, paid upfront. In month 5 the buyer files "not received." The 120-day window runs from the last date the buyer expected the service, not from the payment date7. Your call logs and portal logins are the defense.

Fig. 4The 6-month coaching program from the example

Payment6-month program, paid upfront
Month 5Buyer files "not received"
Last expected sessionThe 120-day window starts here
540 days after the saleHard cap

The window runs from the last expected session, not the payment.

Illustrative example. Rule: Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026, condition 13.1.

Full playbook: chargebacks for info product sellers and chargeback alerts.

Chargeback thresholds

Both card networks monitor merchants from 1.5%, but they count different things.

	Visa (VAMP)	Mastercard (ECM)
Counted	Fraud reports plus disputes9	Chargebacks10
Threshold	1.5% in the US since April 1, 20269	1.5%10
Minimum count	1,500 a month9	100 a month10

1.5%

Visa VAMP and Mastercard ECM threshold, US, 2026

1,500

Visa fraud reports plus disputes a month

100

Mastercard chargebacks a month

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

Fraud and failed payments: fraud and 3D Secure, declined payments.

Payment plans, memberships and refunds

Info products are often sold in installments or as a membership. Each format has its own billing rules.

Format	Rule
Payment plan (fixed number of payments)	NoInterest; a late fee must be "a flat fee"; express consent to an agreement shown "separately from the general purchase terms" (Visa)7
Membership or monthly coaching with no end date	Clear terms before billing details, express consent, a simple way to stop (ROSCA)13
Trial or intro offer leading to more charges	Disputable under 13.5 if the buyer "was not clearly advised of further Transactions" (Visa)7
Earnings claims in the offer	Any "specific level or range of actual or potential sales, or gross or net income" is an earnings claim (FTC)11

How to set these up in a checkout: payment plans and membership billing. Rules on recurring offers: how to sell info products on subscription.

Your three setups

Setup	How it works	Fits	Weakness
Course platform payments (Kajabi, Teachable, Whop)	Payments built into the platform	Courses and ebooks at low and mid prices	Platform fees; one underlying processor14 15
Aggregator (Stripe, PayPal, Shopify Payments)	Instant sign-up, review later	One-time sales, clean offers	Closure or holds after large payments18
Underwritten merchant account, several processors	A bank reviews you first; routing across accounts	High-ticket coaching, payment plans, high volume	Paperwork; more accounts to maintain

Fig. 5Several processors behind one course checkout

An outage or a closure moves the volume instead of stopping it. A bank decline stays declined.

Illustrative example. Routing rules are set per store.

Getting underwritten: how to get an info product merchant account approved. Routing in practice: payment routing for info product sellers.

Watch out

A second account is a continuity plan. Splitting volume to stay under a network threshold is evasion, which card networks penalize.

Guides for info product sellers

Theme	Guides
Providers	Stripe · Shopify · PayPal and Square · Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop
Getting started	Is it legal? · Start an info product business · New sellers · Get approved
Money	Fees and reserves · Payouts · International payments · Payment methods
Staying approved	Compliance · Advertising · Subscriptions · Trial offers
Disputes and fraud	Chargebacks · Chargeback alerts · Fraud and 3D Secure · Declined payments
When things go wrong	Stripe closed your account · Switch payment processor

How Tagada helps

One application, several processors, one course checkout

TagadaPay lists info products among the businesses it serves: "DTC, subscriptions, info products, supplements, SaaS, coaching, high-ticket." Its application has a "Digital products" track for sellers of "software, courses, info products, coaching, or any service delivered online." "If you sell something real, we will get you paid." "Live in 24h. You own your vault."19

One application: "One KYC. One signed package. We distribute it across our processor network and follow up so you don't have to." Each file gets "Enhanced review for regulated verticals."
Routing: "Route to the processor most likely to approve it, retry on decline. No engineering required." TagadaPay reports a "+18% approval uplift"19.
Pricing: "From 2.9% + $0.29", "No setup fees, no monthly minimums"; "High-risk verticals and edge cases are priced case by case."19
A vault you own: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers. No vendor lock-in. Ever."
Fraud control: "Native 3DS2, device intelligence, and rules engine: approve real customers, block the rest."
Plugs into your funnel: "Already on Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickFunnels or BigCommerce? Drop TagadaPay in."

On the funnel side, Tagada runs "Checkout, one-click upsells, subscriptions and membership on the same funnel." Apply on TagadaPay.

Apply today · Go live in under 24 hours

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One application, several processors, one course checkout

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

Is coaching considered a high-risk business?

Not by category. Visa files most courses and coaching under MCC 8299, outside its high-risk integrity program, and Stripe's list does not name coaching. Processors raise the risk level for high tickets, long delivery windows and income promises, which Visa's dispute condition 13.5 targets by name.

What is the best payment processor for a coaching business?

It depends on your ticket and offer. Course platforms and Stripe suit low and mid-priced programs with clean sales pages. High-ticket coaching with payment plans usually needs an underwritten merchant account and a backup processor, because a single aggregator can close the account at any time.

Can I sell online courses with Stripe?

Yes. Stripe's restricted list names no course or coaching line. It prohibits "get rich quick" schemes, deceptive testimonials and high-pressure upselling, plus negative-option memberships with hidden pricing. Details: does Stripe allow info products and online courses?

What MCC do online courses use?

Usually 8299, Schools and Educational Services, which Visa defines as "educational courses and services that are not classified with a more specific MCC". Ebooks fit 5815, Digital Goods Media. A course membership keeps the code of the business: Visa says recurring merchants should use the MCC that "best describes their business".

How do I prove delivery of an online course in a chargeback?

With access records. For a disputed digital sale, Visa asks for a description of what you sold and the date you delivered it, plus 2 or more of: IP address, device ID, the buyer's name and email on their profile, a profile verified before the purchase, or access to your site on or after the purchase date. Log every login and lesson opened, with dates.