What Is Shopify Payments?
Quick answer: Shopify Payments restricts CBD, supplements, peptides, firearms, vape, adult products, kratom, and dozens of other categories. If your product is restricted, you don't need to leave Shopify — connect a third-party high-risk payment gateway through Settings → Payments → Third-party providers and keep your store running.
Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in payment processor, powered by Stripe. When you enable Shopify Payments, you're essentially using a Stripe account that's integrated directly into your Shopify admin — same underwriting, same restrictions, same risk policies.
The benefit of Shopify Payments is simplicity: instant setup, no third-party gateway, and lower transaction fees (Shopify charges an additional 0.5-2% fee when you use external gateways).
The problem is that Shopify Payments inherits all of Stripe's product restrictions. And Stripe is an aggregator that categorically prohibits dozens of product types — no exceptions, no case-by-case reviews.
Complete List of Shopify Payments Restricted Categories
These product categories will get your Shopify Payments account terminated:
Explicitly prohibited:
- CBD and hemp products (all forms — oils, edibles, topicals, flower)
- Marijuana and cannabis products
- Peptides and research chemicals
- Kratom
- Dietary supplements and nutraceuticals (especially subscription/auto-ship)
- Vape and e-cigarette products (hardware, e-liquids, nicotine)
- Firearms, ammunition, and firearm parts
- Adult content and products
- Gambling and real-money gaming
- Tobacco products
- Pharmaceuticals and prescription medications
Frequently terminated (gray area):
- Weight loss products with health claims
- Nootropics and cognitive enhancers
- Essential oils marketed with therapeutic claims
- Sports nutrition with performance claims
- Multi-level marketing products
- High-ticket coaching and courses (chargebacks)
- Dropshipping with long shipping times (dispute risk)
If your product appears on either list, Shopify Payments will eventually terminate your account. It might work for a few days or even months, but Stripe's automated monitoring will flag it.
What Happens When Shopify Payments Terminates You
1. You receive a notice that your Shopify Payments account has been deactivated 2. Payouts are paused for 90-120 days while Stripe holds a reserve 3. You can still use Shopify as your storefront — you just can't use Shopify Payments 4. You need a third-party gateway to continue accepting payments on your Shopify store 5. Existing subscriptions processed through Shopify Payments need to be migrated
The critical thing to understand: Shopify Payments termination does not mean Shopify store termination. Shopify allows third-party gateways. You can keep your store, your products, your customers, and your design — you just connect a different payment processor.
How to Use a Third-Party Gateway on Shopify
Shopify supports over 100 third-party payment gateways. For restricted product categories, you need a gateway connected to a high-risk merchant account. Here is how it works:
Step 1: Get Approved for a High-Risk Merchant Account
Apply with a processor that supports your product category. Unison Payment Solutions specializes in all the categories Shopify Payments restricts — CBD, peptides, supplements, adult, firearms, vape, and more. Approval takes 3-10 business days.
Step 2: Connect Your Gateway to Shopify
Your high-risk merchant account comes with a payment gateway (like PayTrace, NMI, or Authorize.net). In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Payments → Third-party providers and select your gateway. Enter your gateway credentials.
For specific platform guides:
Step 3: Handle the Extra Transaction Fee
Shopify charges an additional fee for third-party gateways:
- Basic plan: 2.0% per transaction
- Shopify plan: 1.0% per transaction
- Advanced plan: 0.5% per transaction
This fee is on top of your gateway's processing rate. For high-risk merchants, this is still cheaper than getting terminated from Shopify Payments and losing access to funds for 120 days. Many merchants upgrade to the Advanced plan to minimize this fee.
Step 4: Migrate Existing Subscriptions
If you had recurring billing through Shopify Payments, you'll need to re-collect payment information from subscription customers. Your new gateway tokenizes card data separately — Shopify Payments tokens don't transfer to third-party gateways.
Send customers a secure payment link to update their billing information. Most merchants complete this migration within 1-2 weeks with a simple email campaign.
Cost Comparison: Shopify Payments vs Third-Party Gateway
| Shopify Payments | Third-Party Gateway (Unison) | |
|---|---|---|
| Processing rate | 2.6-2.9% + 30¢ | 3.5-5.5% (high-risk interchange-plus) |
| Shopify gateway fee | $0 | 0.5-2.0% (depends on plan) |
| Total effective rate | 2.6-2.9% | 4.0-7.5% |
| Monthly fees | $0 | $0 |
| Termination risk | High (restricted categories) | None (purpose-built) |
| Fund holds | 90-120 days at termination | None |
| Chargeback tools | Basic | Ethoca + Verifi alerts |
Yes, the per-transaction cost is higher with a third-party gateway for high-risk products. But this is the cost of operating in a restricted category — and it's dramatically cheaper than the alternative of having your Shopify Payments account terminated, funds held for months, and scrambling to find a new processor while your store generates zero revenue.
Alternatives to Shopify for High-Risk Products
If Shopify's additional gateway fees are prohibitive, consider these platforms that are more accommodating:
WooCommerce (WordPress): No platform transaction fees. You can use any payment gateway without extra charges. Popular with peptide stores and CBD sellers.
BigCommerce: Lower additional gateway fees than Shopify. Good for mid-to-large eCommerce operations. BigCommerce for peptides.
Custom platform: If your volume justifies it, a custom storefront with direct gateway API integration eliminates platform fees entirely.
For most merchants, Shopify with a third-party gateway is still the best option. Shopify's ecosystem (apps, themes, marketing tools) is hard to replicate, and the additional gateway fee is a manageable cost of doing business in a restricted category.
Need help connecting a high-risk payment gateway to your Shopify store? Contact Unison Payment Solutions — we handle the gateway setup and integration for you.
Also see: Stripe Alternative for High-Risk Businesses | Square Alternative for Small Businesses | Why Businesses Switch Processors