🚫 What Stripe, Square, and PayPal Won’t Tell You About “High-Risk” Businesses
Let me say this up front: Stripe, Square, and PayPal are great—until they’re not.
If you’re in certain industries (you know who you are), you could be doing everything by the book and still wake up one day to a frozen account, held funds, or worse—a full termination with no warning.
Let’s talk about what these platforms don’t tell you upfront, and how to avoid getting blindsided.
🧨 What They Call “High-Risk” Might Surprise You
You don’t have to be selling anything illegal or shady to get flagged. Here are some industries that get labeled high-risk all the time:
CBD or hemp products
Nutraceuticals and supplements
Online coaching or mentorship
Peptides, SARMs, research chemicals
Dropshipping or print-on-demand
Digital downloads
Memberships or subscription billing
Adult or even borderline adult content
Stripe won’t always tell you this. PayPal definitely won’t. They’ll let you sign up, process payments, and then out of nowhere—boom. Account frozen. Money held for 90+ days. No one picks up the phone.
🕵️ Why They Do This (Even If You’re Legit)
Big processors run on algorithms and automated underwriting. They’ll approve anyone fast, but they don’t actually vet your business until something triggers a review—a spike in volume, a refund, a keyword on your website.
By that time, it’s too late. You’re flagged, and there’s no real appeals process.
And if you're already doing $10k–$50k+/month, that kind of disruption can wreck your operations fast.
⚠️ Signs You’re at Risk (Even If You Haven’t Been Shut Down Yet)
You’ve seen unexplained holds or “pending reviews”
You’re getting more chargebacks than normal and no help handling them
You can’t get a human on the phone
You’ve started getting vague policy emails from your processor
These are red flags. Trust me—I’ve seen it play out too many times.
💡 The Better Way: Partner with a Processor Who Gets You
At Clay Pay, I work with high-risk merchants every day. I don’t judge your business model. I help you get a payment solution that:
✔️ Is stable (no surprise shutdowns)
✔️ Supports your actual products and services
✔️ Comes with real support and direct communication
✔️ Gives you access to wholesale pricing—not inflated “high-risk” rates
Plus, we can integrate with your website, set up hosted checkouts, or even connect to your favorite platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.).
Final Word
If you’re in a gray area industry—or even just growing fast—don’t wait for the rug to get pulled out from under you.
Let’s get you set up the right way now, so you don’t have to panic later.
No holds, no fluff, no bots. Just real solutions that work.