Payments · Guide10 min readUpdated November 3, 2026

Square Prohibited Businesses: The List Explained

Square's 31 unsupported businesses, grouped and explained: the lines that catch online sellers, the rules outside the list, and what happens next.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 9 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

Square calls them "Unsupported Industries". Its US Payment Terms list 31 businesses it won't process for, last updated July 30, 2026. Some are products, like firearms or betting. Many are ways of selling: subscription offers, infomercials, up-sell funnels, telemarketing, and age-restricted goods sold online. There is no approval tier: a business is supported or it isn't.

Section 3 of Square's US Payment Terms, last updated July 30, 2026, lists 31 unsupported businesses and business activities.
At least 8 of the 31 describe a sales model rather than a product, including "(6) direct marketing or subscription offers or services" and "(13) up-sell merchants".
You can't use Square if you are "connected in any way" to another business that sells illegal goods, "for example, cannabis", even if Square never processes for it.
Age-restricted products "may only be sold with a card-present swipe, dip, or tap payment".
If Square deactivates you and offers an appeal, it is "typically reviewed within 48 hours".

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

Square publishes the list in its legal terms, not on a separate page for the US. This guide reads it for you. For every other Square rule and account state, see the Square for high-risk businesses hub. For when you need an underwritten account instead, see the high-risk merchant account guide.

Where Square publishes the list

Three Square documents decide what you can sell. Read them in this order.

Document	What it covers	Version read
Payment Terms, section 3 "Unsupported Industries"	The 31-line list, plus the "connected in any way" clause	Last updated July 30, 20261
General Terms of Service, section 3 "Restrictions"	Weapons, illegal activity, sanctioned countries, for every Square service	Last updated October 27, 20262
Help article "Understand Square's business restrictions"	How Square applies the list: card-present rules, self-payments, fulfillment risk	Read November 3, 20263

Square's reasons are stated up front: "We can't process payments for certain types of businesses or business activity, because of limitations from the card brands, our partners, or the law. A few types we won't support for other business reasons."1

Watch out

These are the US terms. Square's UK, Australian and Canadian help centers publish different lists. Payment Services under these terms "may only be used for business purposes in the fifty states of the United States of America and the District of Columbia"1.

The 31 lines, grouped by category

Square numbers the lines but doesn't group them. Here they are by theme, with Square's numbers1.

Category	Lines in section 3
Illegal, harmful and adult	(1) illegal activity or goods; (2) paraphernalia; (22) adult entertainment; (23) firearms, parts, ammunition and weapons; (25) occult materials and services; (26) hate or harmful products; (27) escort services
Financial services	(4) credit counseling or repair; (5) credit or identity theft protection; (14) bill payment; (16) cash disbursements; (17) prepaid cards, checks, insurance, financial merchandise; (18) money orders, foreign currency; (19) wire transfer money orders; (28) bankruptcy attorneys, debt collection
Sales models	(3) buyers or membership clubs; (6) direct marketing or subscription offers; (7) infomercial sales; (9) unauthorized multi-level marketing; (10) telemarketers; (12) rebate based businesses; (13) up-sell merchants; (20) high-risk products and services, including telemarketing sales
Regulated goods sold at a distance	(8) online, mail or phone pharmacies with remote consultation; (24) online, mail or phone orders of age-restricted products
Gambling	(15) betting, lotteries, casino chips, wagers at races
Telecom and fuel	(11) prepaid phone cards or services; (21) automated fuel dispensers
Public and nonprofit	(29) government entities; (30) political contributions; (31) donations to nonprofits doing business or holding charitable property in California

Fig. 1Three kinds of lines on Square's list

What you sell
Weapons, betting, adult content, financial products. Square won't take them, online or in person.
How you sell it
Subscriptions, infomercials, upsells, telemarketing, buyers clubs. A legal product can fall here.
Where the buyer is
Pharmacy and age-restricted sales are listed only when the buyer orders remotely.

the last two catch businesses that sell legal products

Square Payment Terms (US), section 3, last updated July 30, 2026.

The lines that catch ecommerce brands

Most online sellers don't sell weapons or run a casino. The lines they meet are about the sales model. Square names them in plain words:

(3) buyers or membership clubs, including dues associated with such clubs […] (6) direct marketing or subscription offers or services, (7) infomercial sales […] (13) up-sell merchants

Square Payment Terms (US), section 3, last updated July 30, 2026

What each one usually looks like in a store:

Line 6: an auto-ship offer, a "subscribe and save" plan pushed by ads, a continuity program after a first order.
Line 7: a product sold from a TV or video ad with a direct-response call to action.
Line 13: a funnel that adds offers after checkout, such as one-click upsells and downsells.
Line 3: a paid membership that gives access to member prices.
Line 20: "high-risk products and services". Square doesn't define it in the terms, which leaves the call to Square.

Recurring billing alone isn't the target: Square bills subscriptions itself, with a "Subscription Payments" line in its fee schedule for legacy plans9. Square's terms don't define these words either.

A refill subscription for a single product may never be flagged; the same product behind a trial and three upsells is a closer match to lines 6 and 13. Square decides, after it sees the payments3.

Two lines turn on the buyer's location. Line 8 covers pharmacies "where fulfillment of medication is performed with an internet or telephone consultation, absent a physical visit, including re-importation of pharmaceuticals from foreign countries"1. Line 24 covers "internet/mail order/telephone order of age restricted products (e.g., tobacco)"1.

Rules outside the list

The list isn't the only test. Square's help center and General Terms add four rules2 3:

Rule	Square's words	What it means for you
Age-restricted goods need the card present	"may only be sold with a card-present swipe, dip, or tap payment"3	Sell them in person, with an ID check; never on your website
NoSelf-payments	"sellers cannot use their own card to process a transaction with their Square account"3	Only a "reasonable $1" test swipe; payments from family members can also count3
Activity must match what you declared	"Transaction patterns that are unusual or inconsistent with your stated business type"3	Update your business details before adding a product line
Connected businesses count	"connected in any way to any other business that conducts illegal activities"1	A second business under the same owner can close the Square account

Square also says marijuana and related items aren't allowed because they're "not currently legal at the federal level", even where a state allows them3.

And it may restrict an account whose "business model presents an elevated risk that customers may not receive what they paid for"3. Prepaying for goods delivered later is named as a reason for a reserve6.

Square vs Stripe: no restricted tier

Stripe has a second list of businesses it supports after extra checks. Square's US terms don't1 7.

	Square (US)	Stripe
Name of the list	"Unsupported Industries"1	ProhibitedAnd restricted businesses7
Approval for a listed business	NoTier for it in the terms1	RestrictedBusinesses "require additional due diligence"7
Last update	July 30, 20261	September 22, 20267
Sales models named	Subscription offers, infomercials, upsells, telemarketing1	Negative option marketing and reduced price trials7
When risk is higher but the business is supported	Reserve, payment limit, underwriting6	See Stripe reserve

Stripe's full list: Stripe prohibited and restricted businesses. All processors side by side: prohibited businesses by payment processor.

What happens if you sell something unsupported

Square monitors every transaction and acts "regardless of when the infraction is identified"3. A business can run for months before the review.

Fig. 2After Square finds an unsupported activity

ReviewTransfers held, documents requested
DecisionRestriction or deactivation by email
AppealIf offered: typically 48 hours
OutcomeReactivated and funds released, or denied

the review can come long after sign-up

Square Support and Square General Terms (US), read November 3, 2026.

Transfers stop first. When something looks out of the ordinary, Square says it will "place a hold on any upcoming transfers" and ask for "signed receipts, bank statements, or other forms of verification"3. Instant transfers are suspended too5.
Then the account can go. The General Terms let Square terminate an account "at any time for any reason, including a violation of the Terms"2.
The appeal is not automatic. You can appeal only if your deactivation email says you're eligible. If it's approved, "Any held funds will be released"4.

What happens to the balance after a deactivation: Square deactivated your account. How long each kind of hold lasts: Square holding your funds.

If Square can't support your business

Read section 3 against your funnel, not just your catalog: subscriptions, upsells and remote sales are listed1.
Split by channel if the rules allow it. Age-restricted goods can be sold in person with the card present3; the online store needs another processor.
Ask before you build. If your model is close to a line, ask Square in writing before launch, and keep the answer.
Apply to a processor that underwrites your category and declare the full offer: trial, renewals, upsells.
Keep Square for what it supports, with a clean, accurate business description3.

Square decides what falls under each line. Declare every product and offer, wherever you process.

By industry

Industry	Lines that matter	Guide
Supplements	6 and 13 for auto-ship and upsell funnels	Do PayPal and Square allow supplements?
Skincare	3 and 6 for clubs and refills	Do PayPal and Square allow skincare?
Fitness	6, 7 and 13 for programs sold from video funnels	Do PayPal and Square allow fitness products?
Info products	7, 13 and 20 for webinar and upsell funnels	Do PayPal and Square allow online courses?
Online pharmacy	8 when fulfillment follows a remote consultation	Do PayPal and Square allow prescription drugs?
Telehealth	8 when medication ships after a video visit	Do PayPal and Square allow telehealth?

Dropshipping and digital goods have their own guides: Does Square allow dropshipping? and Does Square allow digital products?.

How Tagada helps

An underwritten processor for what Square won't take

Acceptance: "If you sell something real, we will get you paid." "Enhanced review for regulated verticals" and "100+ verticals live"8.
Onboarding: "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"8.
A vault you own: "Your PCI-tokenized cards, your customer profiles, your subscription data, all portable."8

Apply today · Go live in under 24 hours

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An underwritten processor for what Square won't take

Updated on November 3, 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

What businesses can't use Square?

In the US, the 31 listed in section 3 of the Payment Terms: from illegal goods, weapons, betting and adult content to financial services, telemarketing, subscription offers, infomercials and up-sell merchants. The General Terms add sanctioned countries and illegal activity of any kind.

Can I sell subscriptions on Square?

Square bills subscriptions itself: its legacy fee schedule has a "Subscription Payments" line. So recurring billing as such isn't the issue. The list names "direct marketing or subscription offers or services": subscriptions sold as a marketing offer, such as auto-ship pushed by ads. Square judges the fit on your real payments, so describe the model exactly.

Does Square have a restricted businesses list like Stripe?

No. Square's US terms list unsupported businesses only, with no tier that opens after approval. Supported businesses with higher risk can instead get a reserve, a payment limit or underwriting. Stripe keeps a separate restricted list that needs its approval.

Can I sell age-restricted products online with Square?

No. Line 24 excludes "internet/mail order/telephone order of age restricted products (e.g., tobacco)". Square's help center says such products "may only be sold with a card-present swipe, dip, or tap payment", with the buyer's ID checked.

What happens if I sell a prohibited item on Square?

Square holds upcoming transfers, asks for documents, and can restrict or deactivate the account, even long after you started. If your deactivation email offers an appeal, Square typically reviews it within 48 hours; if approved, held funds are released.

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026

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