Regulated products
Vape & E-Cigarette merchant accounts, placed with banks that write the category.
Needs a bank that writes the category on purpose. Roughly 5–10 business days, a dedicated gateway, and usually a reserve.
The underwriting objection
Why banks flinch at this category.
Vape is restricted at the card-brand level for online sales and heavily regulated for shipping under the PACT Act, which pushed most aggregators out of the category entirely. Age verification failures are a genuine liability, so banks want to see how you check ID before they take the file. Brick-and-mortar shops fare better than online sellers, but both need a bank that writes tobacco-adjacent business on purpose.
Recommended setup
- Gateway
- Restricted-goods gateway with age gate and geo rules
- Settlement rail
- Card-present in store; card-not-present plus ACH online
- Reserve expectation
- Low to none on card-present files; rolling reserve common online
- Equipment
- Dejavoo or PAX countertop terminal, or NRS POS with age-verification prompts
What we actually do
How we get this file boarded and keep it boarded.
Specific to your category — not a generic high-risk brochure.
Separate treatment for the counter and the website — card-present pricing in store, restricted-goods gateway online
Age-verification and shipping-restriction rules built into checkout, not bolted on afterward
PACT Act shipping and registration considerations reviewed before we submit the application
Cash discount option in store, which takes the effective card cost close to zero on walk-in volume
The process
Four steps, no mystery.
For vape & e-cigarette, the honest window is: card-present shops often 3–7 business days; online vape usually 7–10.
- 1
Call or send the form
Fifteen minutes. We confirm the category is one we can place and tell you which documents matter for your file specifically.
- 2
Document package
You gather statements, IDs and any category paperwork. This is the step that decides your timeline — a complete package moves fast.
- 3
Multi-bank submission
We submit to the banks that write your category, in the order most likely to approve on the best terms. Declines get diagnosed, not repeated.
- 4
Board and monitor
Gateway configured, equipment shipped or checkout integrated, chargeback alerts on. Then we watch your ratio and go back for better terms once history proves out.
Accounts placed through our processor and banking network
Free statement analysis
Get a vape & e-cigarette account underwritten properly.
One application, submitted to the banks that write your category. If your current account is frozen or at risk, tell us on the form and we will work speed first.
Terrab Solutions is a registered agent/ISO partner. Rates and approval subject to underwriting. Estimates are not a binding quote.
Straight answers
Vape & e-cigarette questions
Card-present shops often 3–7 business days; online vape usually 7–10
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