PayPal Acceptable Use Policy

Charges & Financial Obligations · Restriction or exception

Merchant payment processing, money orders, currency exchange and some credit or insurance activity are prohibited

You may not use the PayPal service for activities that relate to transactions that are associated with purchases of annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking, or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card; are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants; are associated with the sale of traveler's checks or money orders; involve currency exchanges or check cashing businesses; or involve certain credit repair, debt settlement services, credit transactions or insurance activities.

Supporting quotations

You may not use the PayPal service for activities that:

(c) are associated with purchases of annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card,

(e) are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants, (f) are associated with the sale of traveler's checks or money orders, (g) involve currency exchanges or check cashing businesses, (h) involve certain credit repair, debt settlement services, credit transactions or insurance activities,

Qualifications & exceptions

• Only 'certain' credit repair, debt settlement, credit transactions and insurance activities are named; the policy does not say which.
• The approval section separately lists payment facilitator services (money service businesses, electronic money institutions) as needing pre-approval rather than listing them here.

Not stated here

• Which credit and insurance activities are covered by 'certain' is not defined in the supplied text.

Cross-references

• contrast (model-proposed): Payment facilitators, investments and digital value or crypto need pre-approval — Payment processors collecting payments for merchants are banned, while payment facilitator services are a pre-approval category; the policy does not say how the two differ.

Charges & Financial Obligations · Restriction or exception

Payment facilitators, investments and digital value or crypto need pre-approval

Pre-approval is required for: payment services that would fall under the definition of a money service business or electronic money institution, including selling stored value cards and escrow services; buying, selling or brokering stocks, bonds, securities, options, commodities, contracts for difference/forex, mutual funds or an investment interest in any entity or property; and anything that is a digital representation of value that can be traded, transferred or used for payment, including crypto currencies, virtual in-game currencies and non-fungible tokens. Separately, the Prohibited Activities list bans transactions by payment processors collecting payments on behalf of merchants.

Supporting quotations

Payment Facilitator

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.

Investments

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.

Cryptocurrency

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.

(e) are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants,

Qualifications & exceptions

• The payment facilitator entry depends on the legal definitions of a money service business or electronic money institution, which the policy does not supply.
• Virtual in-game currencies and non-fungible tokens are named inside the cryptocurrency category.
• The prohibition on payment processors collecting for merchants is a separate ban; this entry lists payment facilitator services as approvable.

Not stated here

• The policy does not explain how the payment facilitator category relates to the ban on payment processors collecting for merchants, or which activities are approvable.
• The meaning of 'figures' in the investments entry is unclear in the supplied text.

Cross-references

• contrast (model-proposed): Merchant payment processing, money orders, currency exchange and some credit or insurance activity are prohibited — Payment processors collecting payments for merchants are banned, while payment facilitator services are a pre-approval category; the policy does not say how the two differ.