Regulated products
CBD and hemp merchant accounts
Commonly assigned MCC
5499 · 5912 · 5993
The category actually assigned is set by the acquirer at boarding and can differ from these.
The short version
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp containing under 0.3% delta-9 THC from the Controlled Substances Act. That changed the law and did not change most banks' appetite. The card brands permit CBD; individual sponsor banks decide whether to write the policy, and the list of banks that have is short and moves.
The practical consequence is that a CBD merchant's account is only as stable as its sponsor bank's current position. Accounts close not because the merchant did anything wrong but because a bank exited the vertical. Placement is about which bank, not whether an approval exists somewhere.
What is actually being priced
What underwriting is looking at.
Policy risk sits above you
A sponsor bank can exit CBD on notice regardless of your processing history. This is the dominant risk in the vertical, and a clean chargeback ratio does not protect you from it.
Product claims are underwritten
Health claims on a product page can fail underwriting on their own. FDA warning letters in this category are public and acquirers read them.
Lab documentation is mandatory
Certificates of analysis showing under 0.3% delta-9 THC per batch are a condition of most CBD policies, not a nice-to-have.
What we put in place
- Placement with sponsor banks holding a current written CBD policy
- A second, separately banked MID so one bank exit does not stop your revenue
- Compliance review of product pages and claims before submission
- COA and supply-chain documents handled as part of the file
What underwriting will ask you for
Assemble these before you apply anywhere. The list does not get shorter by waiting, and having it ready is the single biggest thing you control about how long this takes.
- Certificates of analysis for the products you sell
- Supplier agreements or a documented supply chain
- Live product pages, including any claims language
- Three to six months of processing statements if you have them
On this account
What a boarded account in this vertical usually carries.
Also in regulated products
Tell us about your cbd & hemp business.
We will tell you whether a route exists right now, which acquirers are writing the category, and what your file needs before it goes anywhere.