Field notes
What we learn placing regulated merchants with processors and hosts that will keep them. We write these for merchants, so we include the parts that aren't good news for us.
- Payments7 min read
Selling CBD, vapes or peptides on WooCommerce? Which payment gateways will take you.
WooCommerce has no banned products list, so your gateway decides. What WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal each allow, why Square's exit from CBD on 15 October leaves US hemp stores looking for a new route, and what to check before you pick one.
Read it - Platform risk6 min read
Can you sell peptides on Shopify? What to settle before your store opens.
Shopify will host a peptide store, and no policy names peptides. What Shopify Payments, Stripe and PayPal apply instead, why a research-use-only label can work against you, and the seven things to sort out before launch day.
Read it - Platform risk6 min read
Can you sell CBD on Shopify? Yes, but not through Shopify Payments.
Shopify hosts CBD stores but Shopify Payments won't process hemp, CBD or THC, even though Stripe allows low-THC CBD. What Shopify's own pages say, which payment providers it points to, what the extra fees cost, and what to have ready before you apply.
Read it - Compliance7 min read
The federal hemp definition changes on 12 November and 11 December 2026. Your processor moves first.
The FY2026 appropriations act replaces the delta-9 threshold with a total-THC standard counting THCA and delta-8, and adds a 0.4mg per-container ceiling. A September stopgap law split the start date in two. What that does to hemp payments, and why processors tighten before either date arrives.
Read it - Payments8 min read
Prohibited, restricted, or not on the list at all: how to read Stripe's restricted businesses page
The page has three states, and the third one is the one that catches most merchants. What each state means, the catch-all clause Stripe uses on categories nobody wrote down, and why this page governs Shopify Payments merchants too.
Read it - Compliance7 min read
LegitScript certification: what it is, who actually needs it, and what it does not do
It can get you past a gatekeeper, but it won't protect you after that. Which categories really require it, why it's priced per website, why LegitScript publishes no fee schedule, and the sequencing mistake that has merchants collecting declines before they apply.
Read it - Platform risk8 min read
Who actually bans what: the platform is rarely the problem, your processor is
Shopify and Squarespace don't publish a banned products list at all. Shopify Payments points at Stripe's. A category-by-category comparison of what the published policies say, with links to every source.
Read it - Platform risk6 min read
Wix bans what you sell. What that actually means for peptides, kratom, CBD and vape.
Wix Payments publishes a prohibited products list that covers most regulated categories, and reserves the right to hold your funds and refund your customers. Here's what the policy says, and how payment risk differs from platform risk.
Read it - Ownership7 min read
Your developer owns your domain. Here is how to find out, and get it back.
A free two-minute check that tells you whether you control your domain, your hosting, your store admin and your merchant account, plus what you can realistically get back when a developer stops replying.
Read it - Payments7 min read
Your payment processor froze your account. What to do in the first 48 hours.
The order that works: what to stop, what to keep doing, how to tell a review from a termination, and the one shortcut that turns a recoverable problem into a five-year listing on the MATCH file.
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