Acceptable Use Policy
DATED 2022-10-29 · VERSION 20260705_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20241120_rev01 · ARCHIVE SNAPSHOT
Full text changes — 20241120_rev01 to 20260705_rev01
COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED
| 15 | 15 | 5. relate to transactions involving any activity that requires pre-approval without having obtained said approval. |
| 16 | 16 | |
| 17 | 17 | ## Activities Requiring Approval |
| 18 | 18 | |
| 19 | 19 | PayPal requires pre-approval to accept payments for certain services as detailed in the chart below. |
| 20 | 20 | |
| 21 | <table role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p><strong>PayPal requires pre-approval to accept payments for certain items and services as detailed below.</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Section</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Category</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Item or Service Requiring Pre-Approval <br>(not intended to be an exhaustive list)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Contact Information</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Transportation</p></td><td><p>Airlines and scheduled or non-scheduled charters/jets/air taxi operators.</p></td><td rowspan="18"><p>For general questions, please refer to our Help Center.</p><p>If you have questions about obtaining a pre-approval or opening a new PayPal Business account that offers services requiring pre-approval, please contact our<span> </span><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/business/contact-sales?locale.x=en_US">Sales team</a>.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>Charities / Non-Profit</p></td><td><p>Collecting donations as a charity or non-profit organization.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>High Value Items</p></td><td><p>Operating as a dealer in jewels, precious metals and stones.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>Payment Facilitator</p></td><td><p>Providing payment services which would fall under the definition of a money service business or an electronic money institution. Services would also include the sale of stored value cards and escrow services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>Investments</p></td><td><p>Buying, selling, or brokering stocks, bonds, securities, options, figures, commodities, contracts for difference/forex, mutual funds or an investment interest in any entity or property.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>Gambling, Gaming, Prize Draws and Contests</p></td><td><p>Activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to property/real estate prizes, casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, fantasy sports, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not legally defined as gambling) and sweepstakes, if the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>Cryptocurrency</p></td><td><p>Any digital representation of value that can be digitally traded, transferred, or used for payment, including, but not limited to, crypto currencies, virtual in-game currencies, or non-fungible tokens.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>Prescription Items</p></td><td><p>The sale of any product(s) requiring a prescription or prescription dispensing</p><p>services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>Telemedicine Services</p></td><td><p>Providing medical services and consultations in a remote fashion.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>Mature Audience Content</p></td><td><p>Any adult content delivered digitally including video on demand (VOD) and web-cam activities. PayPal may be restricted from processing payments in certain jurisdictions for adult DVD's, magazines and other adult themed products or services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>Online Dating</p></td><td><p>Any dating services that enable individuals to find and introduce themselves to new people with the goal of developing a personal or romantic relationship.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>Live Streaming/Broadcasting</p></td><td><p>Any activities in which people transmit video, voice or text content in a live environment with the potential of user interaction.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>File-Sharing</p></td><td><p>Providing file sharing services including cyberlockers and similar remote digital file sharing services where uploaded content is accessible to the public or the service pays uploaders for content.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>Alcohol</p></td><td><p>Selling alcoholic beverages.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>Tobacco</p></td><td><p>Non-cigarette tobacco products, e-cigarettes, cigars</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>Medical Items or Services</p></td><td><p>All items classified as medical devices, and all services or treatment provided by a person or organization holding itself out as a provider of health-care services, including, but not limited to, all health-care services for which government licensure is required in the provider's jurisdiction or in the jurisdiction where services are being provided.</p><p>This category includes "Medical Tourism" involving medical services to be provided to a patient outside of that patient's home country.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>Multilevel Marketing and Direct Selling Organizations</p></td><td><p>Direct Sales Organizations ("DSOs") and the Multi-Level Marketing ("MLMs") are distribution and marketing models in which products or services are sold via a network of independent distributors or representatives. DSO and MLM models rely on personal sales and frequently require the independent distributors to recruit new distributors in order to advance within the organization or gain incentive compensation.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>Marketplaces</p></td><td><p>A marketplace is an e-commerce solution where third-party sellers can sell their products or services to customers. </p></td></tr></tbody></table> | |
| 21 | <table role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>PayPal requires pre-approval to accept payments for certain items and services as detailed below.</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Section</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Category</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Item or Service Requiring Pre-Approval <br>(not intended to be an exhaustive list)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Contact Information</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>Transportation</p></td><td><p>Airlines and scheduled or non-scheduled charters/jets/air taxi operators.</p></td><td rowspan="18"><p>For general questions, please refer to our Help Center.</p><p>If you have questions about obtaining a pre-approval or opening a new PayPal Business account that offers services requiring pre-approval, please contact our<span> </span><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/business/contact-sales?locale.x=en_US"><strong>Sales team</strong></a>.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>Charities / Non-Profit</p></td><td><p>Collecting donations as a charity or non-profit organization.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>High Value Items</p></td><td><p>Operating as a dealer in jewels, precious metals and stones.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>Payment Facilitator</p></td><td><p>Providing payment services which would fall under the definition of a money service business or an electronic money institution. Services would also include the sale of stored value cards and escrow services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>Investments</p></td><td><p>Buying, selling, or brokering stocks, bonds, securities, options, figures, commodities, contracts for difference/forex, mutual funds or an investment interest in any entity or property.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>Gambling, Gaming, Prize Draws and Contests</p></td><td><p>Activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to property/real estate prizes, casino games, sports betting, horse or greyhound racing, fantasy sports, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not legally defined as gambling) and sweepstakes, if the operator and customers are located exclusively in jurisdictions where such activities are permitted by law.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>Cryptocurrency</p></td><td><p>Any digital representation of value that can be digitally traded, transferred, or used for payment, including, but not limited to, crypto currencies, virtual in-game currencies, or non-fungible tokens.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>Prescription Items</p></td><td><p>The sale of any product(s) requiring a prescription or prescription dispensing</p><p>services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>Telemedicine Services</p></td><td><p>Providing medical services and consultations in a remote fashion.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>Mature Audience Content</p></td><td><p>Any adult content delivered digitally including video on demand (VOD) and web-cam activities. PayPal may be restricted from processing payments in certain jurisdictions for adult DVD's, magazines and other adult themed products or services.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>Online Dating</p></td><td><p>Any dating services that enable individuals to find and introduce themselves to new people with the goal of developing a personal or romantic relationship.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>Live Streaming/Broadcasting</p></td><td><p>Any activities in which people transmit video, voice or text content in a live environment with the potential of user interaction.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>File-Sharing</p></td><td><p>Providing file sharing services including cyberlockers and similar remote digital file sharing services where uploaded content is accessible to the public or the service pays uploaders for content.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>Alcohol</p></td><td><p>Selling alcoholic beverages.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>Tobacco</p></td><td><p>Non-cigarette tobacco products, e-cigarettes, cigars</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>Medical Items or Services</p></td><td><p>All items classified as medical devices, and all services or treatment provided by a person or organization holding itself out as a provider of health-care services, including, but not limited to, all health-care services for which government licensure is required in the provider's jurisdiction or in the jurisdiction where services are being provided.</p><p>This category includes "Medical Tourism" involving medical services to be provided to a patient outside of that patient's home country.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>Multilevel Marketing and Direct Selling Organizations</p></td><td><p>Direct Sales Organizations ("DSOs") and the Multi-Level Marketing ("MLMs") are distribution and marketing models in which products or services are sold via a network of independent distributors or representatives. DSO and MLM models rely on personal sales and frequently require the independent distributors to recruit new distributors in order to advance within the organization or gain incentive compensation.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>Marketplaces</p></td><td><p>A marketplace is an e-commerce solution where third-party sellers can sell their products or services to customers. </p></td></tr></tbody></table> | |
| 22 | 22 | |
| 23 | 23 | ## More Information |
| 24 | 24 | |
| 25 | 25 | To learn more about the Acceptable Use Policy, please refer to our [**Help Center**](https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/helpcenter/helphub/home/). |
| 26 | 26 | |
| 27 | 27 | ## Violations of the Acceptable Use Policy |
| 28 | 28 | |
| 29 | We encourage you to [report](https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us) violations of this Acceptable Use Policy to PayPal immediately. If you have a question about whether a type of transaction may violate the Acceptable Use Policy, or wish to file a report, you can do so [here](https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us). | |
| 29 | We encourage you to [**report**](https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us) violations of this Acceptable Use Policy to PayPal immediately. If you have a question about whether a type of transaction may violate the Acceptable Use Policy, or wish to file a report, you can do so [**here**](https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/contact-us). |