Field notes
What we learn placing regulated merchants with processors and hosts that will actually keep them. Written for the merchant, not for the search engine, which means we tell you the parts that are not good news for us.
- Compliance7 min read
The federal hemp definition changes on 12 November 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. What that does to hemp payments, and why the tightening starts before the date rather than after it.
Read it - Payments8 min read
Prohibited, restricted, or not on the list at all: how to read Stripe's restricted businesses page
The document has three states, not two, and the third one catches most merchants. What each means, the catch-all clause used on categories nobody wrote down, and why Shopify Payments merchants are governed by this page too.
Read it - Compliance7 min read
LegitScript certification: what it is, who actually needs it, and what it does not do
It is a gate, not a shield. Which categories genuinely require it, why the pricing is per website, why LegitScript publishes no fee schedule, and the sequencing mistake that makes merchants collect 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 publish no list of banned products at all; Shopify Payments points at Stripe's. A category-by-category comparison of what the published policies actually 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 is what the policy says, and the difference between payment risk and 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 is realistically recoverable 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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