Can I sell firearms and ammunition on Stripe, Shopify Payments or PayPal?
Stripe allows firearms in limited circumstances. PayPal prohibits them, along with parts and accessories, and Shopify Payments names firearms, ammunition and holsters on its own list. Accessories are the trap. Merchants who don't sell a single firearm assume they're outside the category, then find out the policies cover parts and components too.
Also searched as: guns, ammo, gun parts, 80% lowers, suppressors.
Stripe
RestrictedNamed, and allowed only on stated conditions or in certain countries.
“Firearms, including rifles, shotguns, and pistols”
Named, and restricted with limited availability. Approval is the exception, and it depends on the country and the specific business. Treat it as a maybe you have to arrange in advance. You can't count on it.
Source: Stripe: Prohibited and restricted businesses. The policy says it was last updated 22 September 2026. We last read it on 4 October 2026. Check it yourself before you act on this. These lists change, and this is only our reading of theirs.
PayPal
ProhibitedNamed on the list and refused. Applying anyway is how merchants end up on MATCH.
“ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (k) certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law”
Named and prohibited, and look how far it reaches: ammunition, parts and accessories, and regulated knives. An accessories-only store that thought it was outside the firearms category is inside this clause.
Source: PayPal: Acceptable Use Policy. The policy says it was last updated 29 October 2022. We last read it on 4 October 2026. Check it yourself before you act on this. These lists change, and this is only our reading of theirs.
Shopify Payments
ProhibitedNamed on the list and refused. Applying anyway is how merchants end up on MATCH.
“Regulated or illegal products and services: Products or services that require regulatory approval or compliance, such as cannabis and related products, prescription drugs, medical devices, tobacco and related products, firearms, holsters, ammunition, or weapons.”
Shopify names firearms, holsters and ammunition on its own list of what Shopify Payments won't support. Stripe's limited availability for firearms doesn't reach Shopify merchants, because Shopify says no first. Selling on Shopify means using a third-party payment provider that underwrites the category, and holsters are named too, so an accessories-only store is inside this line.
Source: Shopify Help Center: Shopify Payments eligibility, prohibited businesses and products. The page doesn't give a last-updated date. We last read it on 4 October 2026. Check it yourself before you act on this. These lists change, and this is only our reading of theirs.
What usually happens
Everyone expects a gun dealer to be declined. The more common failure is a parts, optics or accessories retailer that gets approved without anyone looking closely, runs for months, and is then terminated when a catalogue review turns up regulated components. Believing in good faith that you weren't in the firearms business won't save the account, because the policy language is broader than the everyday meaning of the words.
What works instead
Declare the full catalogue, accessories and components included, to an acquirer that underwrites firearms on purpose. If you hold an FFL, it helps, so show it up front before anyone asks.
Want an answer for your own store?
This page covers firearms and ammunition as a category. Approval depends on your catalogue, your claims and your paperwork. We'll tell you where you stand, even if it doesn't lead to work for us.
Both are free, and neither is a sales call. The check only asks for your web address. The call takes thirty minutes, and you leave with an answer even if we never work together. Ready to start now? Tell us what you sell.