Keep taking cards for your CBD shop as processors drop the category.
Card processors restrict CBD, hold balances during reviews, and some are dropping the category before US hemp rules change in late 2026. Railbed takes your customers’ cards for compliant hemp and CBD products and settles every sale as USDC to a wallet you control, with no chargebacks.
- Live in under a minute
- No setup fee
- No chargebacks
Press the card to run an example sale.
- Settles to
- Your own wallet, as USDC on Polygon
- Chargebacks
- None. A settled payment can’t be pulled back from your wallet
- To start
- An email and a payout wallet. No setup fee, no monthly fee
- Buyer ID checks
- The card provider decides. Smart Routing tries the least likely first
Why card processors turn CBD sellers away
Most mainstream card processors ban CBD or take it only after extra review, so CBD payment processing usually means a high-risk account that keeps part of every sale and can still change its mind. In 2026 the pressure rose. From 11 December 2026, after a delay signed on 2 September, any finished product with more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container stops counting as hemp under federal law, and the same law bans synthetic hemp derivatives such as most delta-8. Some products could be affected from 12 November. Processors are pulling back before then.
- 15 OctoberSquare’s deadline for taking CBD and hemp items off its cataloguesMarijuana Moment
- 0.4 mgOf total THC per container, the federal hemp limit from 11 December 2026Congressional Research Service
- 5–15%The typical CBD rolling reserve, as one high-risk processor quotes itPayKings
…holding my funds. Lots of them
Square is the sharpest example. In August 2026 it told CBD sellers that a new federal law “places new restrictions” on hemp, and that CBD and hemp items had to go by 15 October 2026, Marijuana Moment reported. “This November 2026, Square will no longer process payments for CBD products,” a seller of CBD dog biscuits wrote on Square’s forum.
The other big names set their own limits. Stripe’s restricted businesses list sends CBD with “only negligible amounts of THC” through “additional due diligence”. Shopify Payments doesn’t support hemp, CBD or THC products. PayPal’s acceptable use policy leaves CBD unnamed, and its alternative payment methods terms exclude “CBD and hemp products” outright.
Visa and Mastercard don’t publish a CBD category in their high-risk programmes. They police legality instead. Mastercard told banks in 2023 that federally illegal cannabis purchases “are not allowed on our systems”, and the Congressional Research Service says full-spectrum CBD over the new limit would be “controlled as marijuana”. That’s how a new definition of hemp reaches your checkout.
Specialist high-risk processors take CBD at a price. One quotes a “5–15% typical CBD rolling reserve” and wants bank statements, processing history, owner ID and lab certificates first.
What sellers report on the processors’ own forums
- “Square is holding my funds. Lots of them,” a hemp seller wrote in December 2024, unable to reach Square’s CBD team.
- Another seller in the same thread was deactivated “after submitting COA’s”, although nothing they sold was illegal.
- On Shopify’s forum, a distiller whose cannabis-flavoured gin contained no CBD was still waiting on a held payout after sending proof.
Paperwork doesn’t fix the root problem. Someone else holds your money between the sale and the payout, and that company can decide to stop.
How Railbed fixes it
Railbed is card checkout that never holds your money. Customers pay for your hemp and CBD products with the card they already have, and each sale settles as USDC to a wallet you control, usually minutes after they pay. There’s no balance with Railbed for anyone to freeze, and no payout to wait for.
| What goes wrong today | With Railbed |
|---|---|
| Your processor drops CBD before the new hemp rules arrive | If it’s legal where you sell it, we don’t judge it. Money you’ve been paid is already in your wallet |
| Your balance sits frozen while nobody on the CBD team answers | Each sale settles to your own wallet as soon as the payment clears |
| Weeks of statements, owner ID and underwriting before your first sale | Sign up with an email and a payout wallet. No credit check, no processing history |
| Forgotten renewals turn into chargebacks, each with a fee and a mark against your ratio | No chargebacks. A settled payment is final, and disputes stay with the card provider that charged the card |
| Shopify Payments won’t take CBD, so your store has no card checkout | Railbed Checkout for Shopify keeps your cart and creates a Shopify order for each sale |
| One acquiring bank decides which customers’ cards go through | Smart Routing sends each customer to the card provider most likely to approve them |
An independent, licensed card provider charges your customer’s card and buys USDC with it, and the USDC is forwarded to the Polygon wallet you saved in Railbed. Nobody in that chain can recall it afterwards, which is why there are no chargebacks against you. If a customer disputes the charge, it’s between their bank and the card provider, and nothing comes out of your wallet.
Railbed is for every hemp and CBD product that stays legal after the federal change. Sign up with a business name, an email and the address of a Polygon wallet you control, then place a practice order in Test mode before your first customer sees it.
How a sale works
A customer fills a cart in your Shopify store and taps Checkout. Railbed’s checkout opens with the total Shopify priced, including shipping, tax and discounts.
The customer enters an email address. Smart Routing sends them to the card provider most likely to approve their card, based on their country, the amount and the currency.
The customer pays on the provider’s page, in a new tab. The provider decides whether to ask for identity details. Light checks such as name, date of birth and address are common at small amounts, and Smart Routing tries the providers least likely to ask first.
The provider buys USDC with the card payment, and it’s forwarded to your wallet on Polygon, minus fees. Railbed checks that the right amount reached the right wallet before it marks the payment Paid.
The paid checkout becomes a Shopify order with the customer attached, and you ship as usual. You see the sale in your dashboard and, if you like, on Telegram.
WooCommerce orders move to Processing the same way.
Fees and getting paid
Railbed shows every fee before anyone pays. Three fees come out of the USDC that arrives. The card provider charges its own fee and exchange spread, which the customer sees on the provider’s page. There’s a 1% network fee. And there’s the Railbed fee, shown in your dashboard and locked when the customer starts paying.
Set prices in USD, EUR, GBP, CAD or AUD. Settlement is always USDC on Polygon, and each settlement is a public transaction you can check from your dashboard. To pay suppliers, labs and staff from a bank account, send USDC from your wallet to any exchange or off-ramp you use and withdraw it there.
Refunds are your call. Railbed can’t reverse a settled payment, so if a customer returns a product, refund them yourself, in USDC or another way you agree.
What we ask of you
- Sell hemp and CBD products that are legal where you sell them and where your customers are, including under the new federal hemp definition.
- Keep a current lab certificate of analysis for each product, as you already do.
- Describe your products without claims that they treat, cure or prevent disease, the line FDA already holds CBD brands to.
The rest is in our acceptable use policy.
Railbed compared with a CBD merchant account
| High-risk CBD merchant account | Railbed | |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Days to weeks of underwriting | Under a minute |
| To apply | Bank statements, processing history, owner ID and lab certificates | A business name, an email and a payout wallet |
| Payouts | On the processor’s schedule, often 3–5 business days | Each sale, to your own wallet, as soon as it settles |
| Chargebacks | A fee for each, and a Visa monitoring threshold of 1.5% since April 2026 | None. A settled payment is final |
| If you’re dropped | Balance held, and a possible five-year MATCH listing | Settled funds are already yours |
| Your industry | Restricted, or “additional due diligence” | Welcome if it’s legal where you sell |
| Card approvals | One acquiring bank decides | Smart Routing across several card providers |
Questions
Square, Stripe or PayPal dropped my CBD shop. Can I use Railbed?
Yes, if what you sell is legal where you and your customers are. A past closure or a MATCH listing doesn’t rule you out, and there’s no processing history to send. If you’re moving off Square before its 15 October deadline, sign up now and place a practice order in Test mode first.
Can I keep selling CBD after the December 2026 hemp changes?
Yes, for every product that fits the new federal definition. From 11 December 2026 a finished product needs 0.4 mg of total THC per container or less, and synthetic cannabinoids such as most delta-8 no longer count as hemp, with some changes possible from 12 November. Railbed welcomes every hemp and CBD product that’s legal where it’s sold and bought.
Do my customers need crypto or a crypto wallet?
No. Customers pay with the card they already have. The conversion to USDC happens after they pay, and only you need a wallet.
Will customers be asked for ID?
Sometimes, and the card provider decides. Smart Routing sends each customer to the provider least likely to ask for ID at their amount and location, so smaller orders often go through with little or no check. Large or unusual payments may still need one.
Can Railbed freeze my money?
No. Every paid sale settles straight to a wallet you control, so there’s no balance with Railbed to hold. If an account breaks our acceptable use policy we can stop new payments, but we can never touch USDC that has already reached your wallet.
What happens if a customer disputes a charge?
No chargeback comes back to you. The card provider that charged the customer’s card handles the dispute under its own rules, and a settled payment can’t be pulled back out of your wallet. A provider may decline future payments from a customer who disputes.
Can I sell CBD subscriptions?
Yes. Railbed doesn’t charge cards automatically, so sell a 3-month supply as one product, or send a payment link when a customer’s supply runs low. Customers who reorder on purpose don’t dispute charges they forgot about. On Shopify, list multi-month supplies as regular products, since subscription carts go to Shopify’s own checkout.
Does Railbed work with my Shopify store?
Yes, through Railbed Checkout for Shopify. Your cart and pricing stay in Shopify, customers pay by card on Railbed’s checkout, and every paid checkout becomes a real Shopify order. Headless Hydrogen stores aren’t supported.
How do I get the money into my bank?
Send USDC from your wallet to any exchange or off-ramp you use, then withdraw to your bank account. You choose when and how much.
Sources
- Cannabis Law Blog: Federal hemp ban changes pushed back until 11 December 2026, 9 September 2026
- Forbes: Trump signs bill delaying hemp THC ban until December, 3 September 2026, and Senator Klobuchar: Hemp ban delay passes Congress, 1 September 2026
- Marijuana Moment: Square tells businesses to stop selling hemp and CBD products, 7 August 2026
- Square Community: Square no longer processing payments for CBD, 27 August 2026
- Square Community: CBD account deactivated, posts from December 2024 and April 2025
- Shopify Community: Payments on hold after proving no CBD, 26 August 2022
- Stripe: Prohibited and restricted businesses, last updated 22 September 2026, checked 5 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center: Shopify Payments and hemp products, and Selling CBD products, checked 5 October 2026
- PayPal: Acceptable use policy, last updated 29 October 2022, and Alternative payment methods terms, last updated 15 July 2026, checked 5 October 2026
- Visa: Visa Integrity Risk Program guide, April 2023
- The Spokesman-Review (Reuters): Mastercard demands shutdown of marijuana purchases, 26 July 2023
- Congressional Research Service: The new federal definition of hemp (LSB11381), updated 22 December 2025
- PayKings: CBD merchant account solutions, checked 5 October 2026
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Regulation of cannabis and cannabis-derived products, including CBD, content current as of 16 July 2024
- Visa: Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program fact sheet, checked 5 October 2026
Last updated .
Stop asking permission
to get paid.
Set up in under a minute. Your first payment can settle today.
- Live in under a minute
- No setup fee
- No chargebacks
Moving a lot of volume? Talk to our team