The following list of industries are considered restricted. This means that Pinch will need to assess each merchant on a case by case basis.
Restricted Industries
The following list of industries are considered restricted. This means that Pinch will need to assess each merchant on a case by case basis.
- Airlines, Air Carriers
- Car Rentals
- Charters & International Tours
- Cruise Lines
- Infomercials – selling gimmicky products or business opportunities
- Legal Gambling (incl. Internet and non-F2F gambling casinos, sports betting, fantasy
- sports leagues)
- Lifetime Memberships
- Marketplaces
- Multi-Level Marketing; e.g. a website featuring 'levels' or compensation plans
- Mortgage Services / Loan Modification / Vendor Finance
- Nutraceuticals with a negative billing model – websites featuring items such as Acai,
- HgH, HcG, Hoodia, Noni Juice, etc.
- Offshore IT Support Services
- Online Dating
- Online Pharmacies
- Reputation Repair / Credit Insurance / Credit Rating Repair. Identity theft protection.
- Sex Shops, Softcore Pornography
- Timeshare Sales
- Travel Agencies
- Wedding Dress Retailers / Bridal Shops
- Payday lenders (short term consumer or business finance)
Prohibited Industries
The following list of industries are prohibited from using the Pinch platform.
- Adult Internet Content, (Hardcore) Pornography
- Ammunition, Firearms, Weapons
- Businesses physically located outside of the Acquiring Bank's country
- Call Blocker Software / Tools
- Companion Services, Escort Services, Mail Order Brides
- Counterfeit/Replica Goods
- Cyber Lockers
- Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), Tobacco
- Embassy, Foreign Consulate, or other Foreign Government
- Essay mills/paper mills (i.e., ghost-writing services that sell essays)
- E-wallets
- Foreign Exchange / Money Trading or Exchange services
- Gentlemen's Clubs
- Get Rich Quick Schemes
- Horoscope & Fortune Tellers
- Illegal Gambling
- Illegally modified electronics or non-certified sellers of branded electronics (i.e. gaming consoles / hardware)
- Investment Opportunities Purchase of stocks/securities/commodities, etc. and other investments such as gold bullion
- Live Streaming Services (exception of real-estate controlled auction services)
- Lottery Resellers
- Massage Parlours, Non-Licensed
- Medical Marijuana, synthetic or unregulated drugs, smoking paraphernalia.
- Negative response marketing techniques by any type of merchant (i.e., customer is automatically charged if they don't return the merchandise or cancel service at the end
of a free or low cost trial period), Deceptive Marketing practices. - On-Line Auctions including Penny Auctions
- Payment Facilitators / PSPs / CBPS / BPSPs / Aggregators
- Products or Services with Unreasonable Claims or Guarantees, Deceptive practices
- Gimmicky Products
- Rechargeable Phone Cards
- Wire Transfer / Money Orders / Money Transfer/Remittance / Virtual Currency
Please note these rules are enforced upon us by the terms and conditions of our partners and the laws that govern the states and territories that we operate in and as such the decision is not in our hands in most cases however if you are unsure whether your business truly qualifies feel free to create an account and go through the verification process.