Stripe's Restricted Businesses List, Explained for SaaS and AI Founders
Stripe publishes a list of restricted businesses it won’t support, or supports only with prior approval. Many founders read it for the first time after they’ve been closed.
Two kinds of “restricted”
- Prohibited: Stripe won’t support it at all, whatever your paperwork looks like.
- Requires approval: Stripe may support it, but only after review and sometimes with conditions.
The list changes over time, so read the current version rather than relying on a blog post, including this one.
Legal isn’t the same as accepted
The list includes plenty of businesses that are perfectly legal. Stripe excludes them because of network rules, partner bank policies, or its own appetite for risk. Being turned down by Stripe isn’t a judgment that your business is illegitimate.
If you’re on it, or close to it
- Read the exact wording that applies to your category.
- Don’t try to “fit” by rewording your business. Underwriters compare your description with your website and your transactions, and a mismatch makes things much worse.
- Look for providers whose policies include your category, and apply with a complete, honest description.
- Ask about conditions upfront: reserves, documents, compliance requirements.
Categories that often surprise SaaS and AI founders
Without listing every rule, the areas that most often catch software founders are prepaid credits and stored value, reselling access to third-party services, user-generated content, some kinds of financial or investment tools, and anything that looks like “get rich quick” marketing. If you’re anywhere near these, get explicit approval in writing before you rely on a processor.
Read next: why Stripe closes accounts after you’ve already started selling.