Smoke Shop Merchant Account Solutions.

It's a high-risk merchant account for smoke shops, head shops, tobacco and vape stores, with credit card processing at the counter and online. It's underwritten for tobacco, vapes, glass and accessories up front, so you can take cards at the counter and online without your account being closed when a bank reviews what you sell.

Tobacco retailers have higher chargeback rates, stricter age verification requirements and evolving regulations that make traditional processors view them as high risk businesses.

Only for part of what you sell. Square allows tobacco in person but bans online tobacco sales and paraphernalia that may be used for illegal activity. Stripe prohibits equipment for making or using drugs, and PayPal prohibits drug paraphernalia. Glass and accessories are where smoke shops get shut down.

MCC 5993 Cigar Stores and Stands, which explicitly covers smoke shops, tobacco shops, pipes and smokers' supplies. Coding a glass shop under a general retail code to avoid 5993's rules is risky, so we set you up under the right code from the start.

We support tobacco products, vaping devices, e-liquids, smoking accessories, CBD products (where legal) and related merchandise with proper compliance.

Yes. We work with all major POS systems used by tobacco retailers and can provide seamless integration without disrupting your current operations.

Yes. Our payment terminals take contactless cards and mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, along with chip and swipe.

Yes. We approve glass pipes, water pipes, papers, grinders and accessories sold as tobacco accessories. Federal law exempts items traditionally intended for use with tobacco, and underwriters look at how you market and display them, not just the label.

Most smoke shop merchants can start processing within 24-48 hours of approval depending on your existing systems integration needs.

Often, yes. Many smoke shops come to us after an account termination at Square, Stripe or PayPal over glass or vape sales. We look at why it happened and what's changed. We also work with merchants on the MATCH list.

Yes, with the right setup. Online tobacco and vape sales need card network registration, age verification and PACT Act compliance for cigarettes, smokeless and vapes. USPS still mails cigars, pipe tobacco and accessories, but not cigarettes, smokeless or vapes.

Yes, our payment gateways integrate with leading age verification services to ensure compliance with tobacco industry regulations.

Selling items traditionally intended for use with tobacco is exempt from the federal drug paraphernalia law. Courts look at all the circumstances, including advertising, displays, instructions and whether you're a licensed tobacco dealer, so a "for tobacco use only" sign isn't a shield by itself.

Yes, where they're legal. Kratom is banned in several states, and intoxicating hemp products like delta-8 lose their hemp status on December 11, 2026. See our kratom and CBD pages for the details.

Banks look closely at it. FDA warned consumers in 2025 not to inhale nitrous oxide products, named brands sold in smoke and vape shops, and California requires sellers to log each sale with ID. If you sell chargers, sell them for culinary use and keep them out of age-restricted displays.

We don't recommend it. FDA has warned about tianeptine products sold as "gas station heroin," at least 15 states have banned it, and the DEA proposed adding it to Schedule I in July 2026. Most acquirers won't approve it.

21 for every tobacco and vape product, under the federal Tobacco 21 law. Scan a government-issued ID at the counter and verify age at checkout and delivery for online orders.

Your processing fees have three parts: a percentage of each sale, a small per-transaction fee and any monthly fees. High-risk processing usually costs more than a standard account, and online sales cost more than in-store. Get the full pricing in writing. There are no setup fees with Adaptiv.

No. There are no setup fees or application fees.

Yes, where your state allows it. Dual pricing, cash discounts and credit card surcharges each have card network rules on signage, receipts and caps, and surcharges can't apply to debit cards. We set your program up to the networks' rules so it doesn't put your account at risk.

It depends on your history and what you sell. New shops and online-heavy sales can mean a rolling reserve. Shops with clean processing history often start with a low reserve or none.

Visa's VAMP program flags merchants at a 1.5% fraud-and-dispute ratio with at least 1,500 disputes and fraud reports in a month, and Mastercard starts at 1.5% and 100 chargebacks. Banks usually act well before that, so aim to stay under 1%.

Our chargeback protection includes real-time monitoring, dispute management and representation services to minimize chargeback fees and protect your merchant account.