Prohibited
Business List
Prohibited businesses with GoDaddy Payments
You must not use GoDaddy Payments to conduct or support any of the businesses described below:
Firearms, Explosives and Dangerous Materials
| Business Type | Description |
| Firearms, Explosives and Ammunition | Merchants selling weapons, devices, instruments, materials or substances that are designed to cause bodily injury or harm including without limitation, explosives and dangerous materials, firearms, and ammunition whether online or in person.
This does not include: air-powered arms such as airsoft or varmint rifles, fireworks, and paintball-related guns and equipment. |
Finance and Payments
| Business Type | Description |
| Investment & Bearer Shares | Merchants that buy sell and broker securities, stocks, bonds, commodities and mutual funds. Entities that have the ability to issue Bearer Shares as an ownership stake in a company. |
| Collection Agencies, Debt Resolution Companies, Bankruptcy Attorneys, Debt Resolution Payment Processors, and Credit Repair Services/Business | Businesses that allow credit card payments for existing debt considered in default.
Business that serves as intermediaries between consumers and creditors to recover debts owed. Lawyers or legal firms whose principal business is counselling debtors through consumer bankruptcy. Non-bank businesses that primarily provide payment processing services to debt resolution or Collections Companies. Businesses that provide credit repair as a service to consumers. |
| Lenders & Primary Money Service Businesses (MSBs) | Businesses whose primary purpose is to offer payday lending services or auto title lending services.
Entities with 40% or more of annual revenues from one or more of the following:
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| Virtual/crypto currency, NFT’s, or Shell banks | Businesses that serve as an exchanger for, or an administrator of, “virtual” currency. Virtual currencies generally have no legal tender in any jurisdiction.
Banks that do not have a physical presence in any country. They are not subject to any regulation. |
Gambling, and Certain Regulated and Illegal activities
| Business Type | Description |
| Counterfeit or proprietary rights infringement | Merchants selling counterfeit merchandise or goods where merchants are infringing on intellectual property rights of trademark owners. This includes “inspired by” merchandise that uses copyrighted or trademarked logos, and patterns in violation of fair use. |
| Gambling, Gaming & Penny auctions | Operations of gaming or betting establishments that occur on the internet. Businesses that offer picks or advice services for placing bets. Merchants conducting horse racing, dog racing or non-sports intrastate internet gambling.
Auctions in which businesses charge a minimal fee, generally pennies, for the option to place a bid (Pay to Play) on the sale of a product. Any merchant that allows bets to be placed on the outcome of a game of chance, race, sporting competition, etc. Includes lotteries. Internet sports forecasting/oddsmaking is also prohibited. |
| Regulated/illegal products or services | Any business which is illegal under applicable state or federal law including marijuana dispensaries that are legal under State law. This includes a prohibition on accounts titled or set up for the sole purpose of collecting taxes, fees or any proceeds from marijuana related activity.
Merchants that sell electronic cigarettes in a non-face to face environment. Includes devices, equipment and e-liquids used for electronic cigarettes. |
| Adult content, Child pornography and services | Includes adult video stores, adult bookstores, exotic dancing establishments, “peep” shows, phone sex lines, strip bars, adult novelties, adult pornographic pay per call services, escort services, etc. Includes, massage parlors, etc., where business owners permit sexual encounters.
Any merchant who provides products or services associated with actual or suggested child pornography. |
| Hemp/CBD products | Any business that manufactures, distributes, or sells Hemp or CBD products or merchandise is prohibited. |
| Electronic cigarettes | Merchants that sell electronic cigarettes in a non-face to face environment. Includes devices, equipment and e-liquids used for electronic cigarettes. |
| Non Face-To-face Tobacco Products | Merchants that sell tobacco products via mail order, telephone order or Internet such as cigarettes or cigars. |
| Counterfeit Goods | Merchants selling counterfeit merchandise or goods where merchants are infringing on intellectual property rights of trade mark owners. |
| Certain Government Services | Merchants that: act as government postal offices that provide a variety of services such as accepting and processing packages and mail for delivery and selling postage stamps; process U.S. Federal Government transactions using an acquiring BIN associated with the Intra-Government Transfers (IGOTS) program; provide government to government services. |
| Telecommunication Services | Merchants that provide telecommunications services including local and long-distance telephone calls, calls placed through the use of magnetic stripe-reading telephones, and fax services. Merchants that provided periodic (e.g., monthly billing of telephone calls). |
Deceptive Acts and Unregulated Businesses
| Business Type | Description |
| Direct Marketing | Merchants that (i) typically offer their service via outbound telemarketing calls in which the merchant initiates direct contact with the consumer to generate a sale or (ii) sell information or content services (or goods sold through the service) that customers access via telephone or fax or over the internet. Also includes merchants that offer referral marketing automation services. |
| Telemedicine | Services in which a cardholder is provided consultation or issuance of prescription by a medical professional through video call or equivalent without a physical office or location in which consultation or issuance of prescription is performed. |
| Lottery | Merchants who sell chance game entries for prizes; either monetary, physical, or virtual. This includes box breaks and other practices regulated under the associated lottery classification. |
| Mystics & Fortune Tellers | Merchants who offer services as a mystic, psychic, or fortune teller. This includes but is not limited to; tarot, numerology, past life readings, or similar services that may be considered divination or mysticism. |
| Adoption Agencies – For Profit | Agencies that take payment for the placement of babies with adoptive parents. |
| Drug paraphernalia | Any business whose products are primarily intended for aiding the consumption of illegal drugs. |
| Protection Services | Any company that sells protection, insurance, or registration service against things such as identity theft, internet fraud, credit card theft or fraud, etc. |
| Pseudo pharmaceuticals | Wholesale distributors of prescription and non-prescription medicine, proprietary drugs, and vitamins, that do not meet Association Registration requirements or that promise untested and/or unrealistic results. |
| High-Risk Cyberlocker | Merchants who provide internet access including computer network, information services and internet service providers. |
| Substances designed to mimic illegal drugs | Any synthetic substance designed to emulate the effects of an illegal drug. |
| Wonder Drugs | Sale of prescription or dietary supplements that promise untested and/or unrealistic results including but not limited to:
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| Games & Sellers | Merchants who operate arcades, amusement machines (such as video game machines, juke boxes, pinball machines, mechanical games, instant photograph booths, and similar types of amusement equipment).
Merchants that sell modification chips for gaming consoles like Xbox. |
| Delayed Delivery Merchants | With the exception of lifetime memberships for non-profit organizations, Delayed Delivery of greater than one (1) year on 25% or greater of their sales volume, or any portion of sales volume with delayed delivery exceeding five (5) years. |
Travel
| Business Type | Description |
| Discount Travel Clubs | Companies that charge a membership fee that in turn allows the cardholder to purchase future travel products or services at a discount. May also consist of subscriptions to travel services and/or travel related newsletters. These businesses generally offer travel arrangements for future delivery, are not the end service provider, or own the real estate used to provide services. |
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