I run a vape shop directory and we have had a listing from a vape shop in the United States that also sells CBD products. A Month later, PayPal has written to use to say that our account has been restricted and have asked us to remove PayPal as a payment method from our vape shop directory. We do not sell CBD products such as CBD oil. We only provide marketing services to CBD companies. I have checked out Holland & Barrett – the UK’s Leading Health Retailer and if you take a close look, you will see that they sell a fairly extensive range of CBD products, specifically CBD oil and they also happen to accept PayPal as a payment method. It appears that PayPal is applying double standards to different companies. As a result of this restriction, I can no longer accept PayPal on my CBD-related website. This has restricted my payment options and now, I am heavily reliant on Cryptocurrency payments and direct bank transfers. I have consulted a solicitor from a Magic Circle law firm in London and they said that what PayPal is doing is entirely illegal and discriminatory as it should be applying a uniform standard to all companies. I am yet to consult another lawyer from a US law firm in London to see what PayPal’s legal position is in the United States. In the meantime, I would be highly appreciative if anyone here could provide me with alternative payment processors/merchants that work with CBD companies.
Here is the original message I got from PayPal. For confidentiality reasons, I have redacted the sensitive parts:
“
Dear [name]
,
A recent review of your account activity identified products/services on
your website violate PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy. Specifically, listing
service for a CBD store are associated with [site url] and
are not permitted on our platform.
Please refer to:
– Transaction [number]
As a result, your account has been limited temporarily.
We appreciate your business and request your assistance to complete the
step(s) below to prevent any further disruption to the use of your account.
To help us resolve this, you will need to:
– Remove PayPal as a payment option, as well as all references to PayPal,
including the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart, from [site url]
For more information about the status of your account and for instructions
on how to restore full use of your account, please log in to your PayPal
account and select the “Resolution Center” link. On the next page select
the “Resolve” button/s located under the Action column, in the Steps to
Provide More Information section and follow the applicable instructions.
You can view the complete PayPal Acceptable Use Policy by clicking the
“Legal” link at the bottom of any PayPal page and clicking “PayPal
Acceptable Use Policy”.
We encourage you to login and resolve this as soon as possible to restore
your account status.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
PayPal
————————————————–
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As you can see, Holland & Barrett sell CBD products
And they accept PayPal
