The following goods and services categories are either prohibited or require approval before partnering with Bolt.
TIP
Contact a Sales or Customer Service Representative if you have questions about a category that is either not listed or requires approval.
Merchant Categories
A-C
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| “Negative option” marketing, renewal, or continuity subscription practices; marketing activities involving low-dollar trails, “pay only for shipping,” and/or “free trial” periods after which a credit card is charged periodically and/or a significantly larger amount |
Prohibited |
| Adult entertainment and/or adult content websites, including Electronic Commerce adult content (videotext) merchants that may include MCCs 5967, 7273 and 7841 |
Prohibited |
| Age Restricted Products or Services |
Requires Approval |
| Aggregation or factoring, whether licensed or unlicensed |
|
| Any Submerchant where the anticipated % of International Card Sales is expected to be greater than 20% of total sales |
Requires Approval |
| Auto Dealerships, new and used when accepting loan payments (loan payments on a Visa branded Credit Card are Prohibited) |
Requires Approval |
| Bail Bond Services or Bankruptcy Lawyers |
Requires Approval |
| Beastiality |
Prohibited |
| Bidding Fee Auctions (e.g.,Penny Auctions) |
Prohibited |
| Career Placement or Advice Center submerchants |
Requires Approval |
| Causes or threatens reputational damage to us or any Card Network |
Prohibited |
| Chain letters |
|
| Child Pornography |
Prohibited |
| CNP Tobacco, e-Cigarettes and “Vape” supplies and accessories |
Prohibited |
| Collection Agencies |
Prohibited |
| Commodity Trading or Security Trading |
Prohibited |
| Consumer Financing |
Requires Approval |
| Counterfeit goods; goods that infringe upon copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets (e.g., Cyberlockers) |
Prohibited |
| Credit Counseling or Credit Repair Services |
Prohibited |
| Credit Protection or Identity Theft Protection Services |
Prohibited |
| Crowdfunding |
Requires Approval |
| Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) |
Prohibited |
| Currency Exchanges or Dealers |
Prohibited |
D-F
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Dating Services |
Requires Approval |
| Dating Services |
Requires Approval |
| Debt Elimination, Debt Reduction or Debt Consulting Services |
Prohibited |
| Deceptive, unfair, predatory products and services |
Prohibited |
| Decryption and descrambler products designed to circumvent intellectual property rights or protections, including mod chips |
|
| Delayed Delivery Merchants where the good or service the merchant is providing the cardholder is not shipped, delivered or fulfilled when the card transaction is processed but is to occur at a future date |
Requires Approval |
| Digital Wallet or Prepaid Companies |
Prohibited |
| Direct Marketing-Inbound Telemarketing including videotext services and MCC 5967 |
Prohibited |
| Direct Marketing-Travel Related Arrangement Services including MCC 5962 |
Prohibited |
| Discount Buying Memberships/Clubs |
Prohibited |
| Discount Coupon Merchants or Online Sites |
Prohibited |
| Discount Medical or Dental plans including Discount Insurance |
Prohibited |
| Distressed Property Sales and/or Marketing |
Prohibited |
| Door-to-door sales |
|
| Drug Paraphernalia |
Prohibited |
| Entertainment venues including but not limited to nightclubs, bars |
|
| Escort Services |
Prohibited |
| Evading card association chargeback monitoring programs |
|
| Extended warranties |
|
| Firearms and weapons including Ammunition, Silencers, Components and Suppressors |
Prohibited |
| Fireworks and related goods |
|
| Fortune tellers |
|
G-I
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Gambling Activities and Establishments including MCC 7995, lotteries, internet gaming, daily fantasy sports, contests, sweepstakes, “special incentives,” or offering of prizes as an inducement to purchase goods or services |
Prohibited |
| Goods or services in violation of laws, statues, or regulations |
Prohibited |
| Gunpowder and other explosives |
|
| High interest rate non-bank consumer lending with an APR >30% including, but not limited to, payday lending and title loans |
Prohibited |
| Infomercial merchants |
Prohibited |
| Internet/Mail Order Pharmacies |
Prohibited |
| Investment or “get rich quick” merchants, businesses or programs and inclusive of Brokers and Dealers |
Prohibited |
J-L
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Loan modifiers |
Restricted |
| Loan payments conducted on a Visa-branded credit card |
Prohibited |
M-O
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Mail Order Brides |
Prohibited |
| Marijuana dispensaries and related products or services that contain CBDs or provide access to CBDs |
Prohibited |
| Massage Parlors |
Requires Approval |
| Membership subscriptions > 1 year |
|
| Merchant who accept card payments using a scrip-dispensing terminal |
Prohibited |
| Merchants who accept card payments for dishonored checks or accept payment for items deemed uncollectible by another merchant |
Prohibited |
| Money Transfer, Wire Transfers, Money Orders, Transmitters, and Check Cashing including merchants required to be registered as Money Service Business |
Prohibited |
| Multi-Level Marketing Businesses |
Prohibited |
| Occult |
Prohibited |
| Outbound Telemarketers and Telecom merchants within MCCs 4814, 4816, and 5966 |
Prohibited |
P-R
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Pawn Shops |
Prohibited |
| Payment Facilitators |
Prohibited |
| Personal Enhancement / Nutraceuticals where no Card Present retail option is available |
Requires Approval |
| Personal Enhancement Products and/or Nutraceuticals where there is not any consumer present retail option |
Requires Approval |
| Prepaid Phone Cards |
Prohibited |
| Prepaid Phone Services |
Prohibited |
| Products and services with varying legal status on a state-by-state basis |
|
| Products/services that promote hate, violence, harassment or abuse, if illegal |
Prohibited |
| Pseudo Pharmaceuticals |
Prohibited |
| Psychics and “occult” businesses |
Prohibited |
| Quasi-Cash or Stored Value |
Prohibited |
| Real Estate Flipping |
Prohibited |
| Rebate-Based Businesses |
Prohibited |
S-U
| Category of Goods/Services |
Status |
| Sale of Mobile Minutes |
Prohibited |
| Securities brokers |
|
| Selling or Sales of Social Media Activity |
Prohibited |
| Sexual Aids/Toys |
Requires Approval |
| Sharing cardholder’s data with another merchant for payment of up-sell or cross-sell products or services |
|
| Shipping or Forwarding Brokers |
Requires Approval |
| Sports Forecasting or Odds Making |
Prohibited |
| Substances designed to mimic illegal drugs |
Prohibited |
| Third party sales resulting from another commercial entity directly providing goods or services; includes those businesses that may otherwise qualify themselves as a Payment Facilitator |
Prohibited |
| Timeshares, including resale’s and related marketing |
Prohibited |
| Toxic, flammable, and radioactive materials |
|
| Transacting Virtual Currency or credits that can be monetized, re-sold or converted to physical or digital goods or services or otherwise exit the virtual world |
Prohibited |
| Tribal Entities (ie: American Indian Tribes) |
Prohibited |
| Up-Selling Merchants |
Prohibited |
V-X
Y-Z