Payments · Info Products11 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Info Product Merchant Account Compliance: The Rules to Follow

The rules an info product or coaching business must follow to keep its merchant account: earnings claims, Visa checkout rules, refunds, memberships.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 16 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

Online courses and coaching are not banned by Stripe or the card networks. What gets an account closed is the promise: income claims, fake or untypical testimonials, high-pressure upsells and hidden recurring charges. To stay compliant, follow three rulebooks at once: your processor's list, Visa and Mastercard checkout and dispute rules, and the FTC's rules on earnings claims and endorsements.

Stripe doesn't name courses or coaching, but prohibits "get rich quick" schemes and "deceptive testimonials" (Stripe, read November 2, 2026).
In October 2021 the FTC warned more than 1,100 companies that false money-making claims could lead to civil penalties; the maximum is $53,088 per violation since January 17, 2025.
Visa requires your refund and cancellation policy before checkout with a "click to accept", and forbids asking buyers to waive their dispute rights (Visa rules, October 24, 2026).
Visa and Mastercard both flag US merchants at 1.5% in 2026.
A course membership with no end date is a negative option under ROSCA: terms before billing, express consent, easy cancellation.

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On this page

This guide is part of our hub on info product payment processing. The general guide, for any business: how to get and keep a high-risk merchant account. General information, not legal advice.

The rules, by who sets them

Four groups write the rules that decide whether you keep your account. Your processor applies all of them, plus its own.

Who	What they set	Where it bites
Your processor (Stripe, PayPal, an acquirer)	Its prohibited list, contract limits	Reserves, payout holds, closure
Visa and Mastercard	Category codes, website and checkout rules, dispute thresholds, installment and subscription rules	Monitoring programs, fines, lost disputes
FTC	Earnings claims, business opportunities, endorsements, subscriptions (ROSCA)	Enforcement actions, refunds, bans
Ad platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok)	"Get rich quick" and income claims in ads	Rejected ads, suspended ad accounts

Fig. 1Four rulebooks behind one merchant account

Your course businessOne offer, four sets of rules

Your processorReserves, payout holds, closure
Visa and MastercardMonitoring programs, fines, lost disputes
FTCEnforcement actions, refunds, bans
Ad platformsRejected ads, suspended ad accounts

Your processor applies all of them, plus its own.

Your promise is what gets checked

Selling education is allowed. Selling an income is where the trouble starts. Stripe's lists read on November 2, 2026 don't mention "coach", "mentor" or online courses1. What they prohibit, under "unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices", is the sales promise1:

"'Get rich quick' schemes, including investment opportunities or other services that promise high rewards to mislead consumers"
"Businesses that make outrageous claims, use deceptive testimonials, use high-pressure upselling or use fake testimonials"
"Businesses offering unrealistic incentives or rewards as an inducement to purchase products or services"
"Negative option marketing, negative option membership clubs and reduced price trials with unclear or hidden pricing"

The FTC targets the same thing.

Its 2021 notice to more than 1,100 companies, which went to multi-level marketing, business opportunity, franchise, gig and investment and business coaching companies, lists as unlawful: claims "that participants will make a profit", that "represented profits are typical", "falsely telling consumers they do not need experience to earn income", and telling them "they must act immediately to participate"2.

Date	FTC action	What it was about
September 25, 2024	Operation AI Comply5	Three "business opportunities" selling online stores and ecommerce training
April 2026 (final order July 2, 2026)	Publishing.com4 15	"False or unsubstantiated earnings claims" about self-publishing programs, a refund policy shown as "a simple money-back guarantee for 12 months", testimonials presented as independent; $1.5 million

The Business Opportunity Rule applies when you sell a program and promise to provide "outlets, accounts, or customers", including online ones3. A course that only teaches is outside this definition today (our reading of the text). Done-for-you stores or "we'll bring you clients" offers fall inside it, with a disclosure document due "at least seven calendar days before" payment3. The FTC has listed a broader earnings claims rule on its 2026 regulatory agenda, but nothing new is in force as of November 2, 2026.

Watch out

An "earnings disclaimer" in your footer doesn't fix an income claim. Under FTC endorsement rules, a testimonial showing results that aren't typical requires you to disclose "the generally expected performance"; "results not typical" isn't enough12.

Card network rules for course sellers

Your category code. Most courses and coaching programs fall under MCC 8299, "Schools and Educational Services (Not Elsewhere Classified)"7. Your acquirer assigns it, based on what you sell.

MCC	Covers	When it fits
8299	Educational courses and services not classified elsewhere	Most online courses and coaching
8241	Correspondence schools: lessons and exams sent by mail or online	Structured courses with assessments
5815	Digital books, music, films "delivered in electronic format"	Ebooks, audio, templates
5968	Direct marketing, continuity and subscription	Subscription-only sellers; Visa says merchants that "happen to offer recurring" billing keep their own code

No educational or digital goods code appears in Visa's Integrity Risk Program tiers. Negative option subscriptions on 5968 do8. A course becomes high-risk through its offer and its dispute rate, not by nature.

Watch out

The code describes your business. Picking one to dodge a rule is circumvention, and Visa can exclude a merchant that "acts with the intent to circumvent Visa programs"6.

Your website and checkout. Visa sets minimum content for any online merchant6:

A customer service contact: email address or phone number (5.8.4.1).
Your country, shown on the checkout screen or within the checkout pages. "A link to a separate web page does not meet this requirement" (5.8.4.1).
An address for cardholder correspondence (5.8.4.1).
If you restrict refunds or cancellations, your policy "during the sequence of pages before final checkout", with a "click to accept" button or checkbox (5.4.2.5).

No "no chargeback" clause. Some coaching contracts ask buyers to promise they won't dispute. Visa's rule is direct: "A Merchant must not require a Cardholder to waive the right to dispute a Transaction" (5.4.2.5)6.

The dispute that targets this vertical. Visa's 13.5 "Misrepresentation" covers "business opportunities in which the Merchant suggests that an income will be generated" (table 11-118)6. Income promises are a dispute reason on their own.

Thresholds. Visa flags US merchants at 1.5% of fraud reports plus disputes and 1,500 cases a month; Mastercard at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks9. Details in chargebacks for info product businesses.

Fig. 2What Visa wants on each screen of a course checkout

Sales pageCustomer service email or phone (5.8.4.1)
Order summaryMembership or payment plan terms, shown separately
PaymentYour country, on the checkout screen (5.8.4.1)
Before final checkoutRefund policy with click to accept (5.4.2.5)
ConfirmationAccepted terms kept, with timestamp

A link to a separate page doesn't count for your country.

Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026, sections 5.8.4.1 and 5.4.2.5, table 5-19.

Memberships and payment plans

Two billing models dominate info products, and the rules differ.

	Membership or monthly coaching (no end date)	Payment plan (fixed number of payments)
Legal model	Negative option under ROSCA10	Installment Transaction under Visa rules6
Before billing	All material terms disclosed before taking card details10	Agreement with total price, schedule, cancellation and refund policy, shown "separately from the general purchase terms" (table 5-19)6
Consent	Express informed consent10	Express consent before storing the card6
Cancellation	"Simple mechanisms" to stop recurring charges10	Per your agreement
Interest and fees	Set by your terms	NoInterest on a Visa partial payment; a late fee must be "a flat fee" (table 5-20)6

When you become a lender. Under Regulation Z, a "creditor" regularly extends credit "payable by written agreement in more than four installments", or with a finance charge; "regularly" means more than 25 times in the previous year11. A plan of 4 payments or fewer, without interest, stays outside that definition. Beyond it, ask a lawyer: state lending and collection laws can apply too.

Selling on subscription, step by step: how to sell info products and online courses on subscription.

Testimonials, affiliates and reviews

Endorsements are where course sellers most often cross the line without noticing.

Typical results
A non-representative result needs "the generally expected performance" next to it12.
Affiliates
"An advertiser may be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser is not liable" (255.1(d))12. Your affiliates' income screenshots are your problem.
Paid or rewarded reviewers
Disclose the connection. Publishing.com was charged with presenting reviews and testimonials as independent4.
Upsell pressure
Countdown timers and "only today" offers on a $2,000 program read as "high-pressure upselling" to Stripe1 and as "must act immediately" to the FTC2.

Proof of delivery: your access logs

A course has no tracking number. Your evidence is the student's access.

For a digital goods fraud dispute, Visa accepts a description of what was sold, the date it was provided, and two or more of: IP address, device ID, name and email linked to the customer profile, proof the buyer accessed the account or the content on or after the purchase date (table 11-7)6.

Keep, for every buyer:

Account creation date, IP and device
Each login, with date and IP
Lessons opened and downloads
Coaching calls attended (calendar record, call log)
The accepted terms and refund policy, with timestamp

Fig. 3One buyer's access file, ready for a dispute

Student · online courseInstant access, self-paced

Account created: Date, IP and device logged
Logins: Each one, with date and IP
Lessons: Opened and downloads recorded
Coaching calls: Calendar record, call log
Terms and refund policy: Accepted, with timestamp

Illustrative record, not real data.

Two or more of these, plus the date of access, meet Visa's digital goods rule.

Illustrative example.

Selling to EU buyers

EU consumers get 14 days to withdraw from distance contracts. Two exceptions matter for you13:

Digital content (a course with instant access): no withdrawal right once access has begun "with the consumer's prior express consent and his acknowledgment that he thereby loses his right of withdrawal" (article 16 m).
Services (a 12-week coaching program): the right is lost only once the service "has been fully performed", with the same consent (article 16 a).

Fig. 4When an EU buyer loses the 14-day withdrawal right

Digital content, instant accessOnce access has begun (article 16 m)Prior express consent and acknowledgment of the loss
Services, a 12-week coaching programOnly once the service has been fully performed (article 16 a)The same consent; until then, the buyer can withdraw

Directive 2011/83/EU, article 16 (a) and (m), original text.

The waiver checkbox at checkout is therefore a legal requirement, not a trick. Directive 2019/2161 amended article 16 from May 28, 2022: check the current consolidated text with your lawyer.

Monthly compliance check

[ ] Sales pages, emails and ads: no income promise, no "anyone can do it", no false urgency
[ ] Testimonials: typical results stated next to any result shown
[ ] Affiliate pages reviewed; income screenshots removed
[ ] Checkout: contact, country, refund policy with "click to accept"
[ ] Membership and plan terms shown before payment; cancellation tested online
[ ] Visa and Mastercard dispute ratios, by offer
[ ] Access logs stored and exportable for each buyer
[ ] New offers (done-for-you, high-ticket, new payment plan) declared to your processor before launch

How Tagada helps

Underwriting that reads your offer, not just your category

TagadaPay lists "Info products", "Coaching" and "Online courses" among the industries it serves: "You sell software, courses, info products, coaching, or any service delivered online"14. Each file is still underwritten, with "enhanced review for regulated verticals"14. "If you sell something real, we will get you paid." "Live in 24h. You own your vault."14

TagadaPay refuses chargeback evasion and deceptive marketing around trials, subscriptions and cancellation.
"Native 3DS2, device intelligence, and rules engine: approve real customers, block the rest."14
Subscriptions and memberships with trials, billing cycles, retries and automatic recovery, and a customer portal where members pause, skip or cancel.
"Your PCI-tokenized cards, your customer profiles, your subscription data, all portable."14
"24/7 human support on Slack Connect"14.

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

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Underwriting that reads your offer, not just your category

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 selling online courses considered high-risk?

Not by nature. Stripe doesn't name courses or coaching, and no educational code is in Visa's high-risk program. Processors treat an offer as high-risk when it promises income, sells expensive programs with long delivery, or bills a membership without clear terms. Your offer and your dispute rate decide.

Do I need an earnings disclaimer on my course sales page?

A disclaimer alone doesn't make an income claim legal. The FTC expects a reasonable basis for any earnings claim, and untypical results shown in testimonials need the generally expected performance next to them. The safer route is not to sell on income: describe the skill, the content and the format.

Can I make coaching clients agree not to file a chargeback?

No. Visa rules state that a merchant "must not require a Cardholder to waive the right to dispute a Transaction". You can, and should, have the buyer accept your refund and cancellation policy with a checkbox before checkout. That acceptance is evidence in a dispute.

Can I have a no-refund policy on a digital course?

In the US, you can restrict refunds if you disclose the policy before checkout and the buyer accepts it with a click. In the EU, instant-access content loses the 14-day withdrawal right only with the buyer's express consent and acknowledgment. A no-refund policy doesn't stop disputes for misrepresentation.

What MCC does an online course use?

Usually 8299, Schools and Educational Services, for courses and coaching without a degree; 8241 for structured correspondence courses; 5815 for ebooks and other digital media. A membership keeps its own code: Visa says merchants that "happen to offer recurring" billing use the code that best describes their business.