High-risk accounts
CBD & hemp merchant accounts
Stratamize places CBD and hemp merchant accounts: we review your catalog, lab reports and labels with you before the application goes to underwriting.
About two minutes. Our team follows up.
What we set up
- Merchant accounts for CBD retail, brands and wholesale
- Catalog, labels and lab reports organized for underwriting
- Online checkout or Clover at the counter, set up after approval
CBD & hemp
Who we work with
CBD and hemp businesses are reviewed product by product: what each item contains, how it is labeled and where it ships. As a registered ISO, we place merchant accounts for CBD retailers, brands and wholesalers, and we prepare your catalog for underwriting before you apply.
We work with CBD and hemp stores, topical and tincture brands, private-label sellers and wholesalers that sell in person, online or both. A hemp retailer, a topical brand and a wholesale supplier run very different operations, and the application should describe yours, not a generic CBD business.
Underwriting reviews the products themselves: formulations, labels, intended use and where they ship. A hemp label on its own does not settle any of that, which is why the catalog comes first.
Underwriting
What underwriting asks for
- A complete product list that separates CBD products, other cannabinoid products and hemp-derived ingredients.
- Current labels and the product pages customers buy from, including any claims you make about the products.
- Certificates of analysis, matched to the specific products and batches they cover.
- Supplier or manufacturer details, and whether you manufacture, private-label, distribute or retail.
- The states and countries you ship to, and your shipping, refund and contact policies.
- Recent processing statements, if you take cards today, and any notice from a provider that closed your account.
The FDA's resource on cannabis and CBD products explains that hemp's legal status does not remove FDA requirements, and describes restrictions on CBD in foods and dietary supplements. Underwriting reads your labels and claims with that in mind, so health claims on a product page are worth fixing before you apply.
Setup
How setup works
After approval we set up how you take payment. Online sales run through an NMI or Authorize.net gateway with a hosted payment form, so card numbers go straight to the processor and never through your website or our team. At a counter, we set up Clover: the devices, your item list and your staff, tested with a live sale and a refund.
Wholesale customers who pay by invoice can pay through payment links from the same gateway, so retail and wholesale payments land in one account.
Reserves
Reserves and chargebacks
Underwriting may set a reserve: a share of each settlement held back as a cushion against chargebacks and released on a schedule your agreement states. Whether one applies, and its terms, depend on the review. What keeps an account in good standing afterward is ordinary practice done consistently: a business name customers recognize on their statement, a refund policy they can find, and a support line that answers before a customer calls their bank.
Selling online? The gateway is set up with the account: see the high-risk payment gateway. From our blog: CBD and hemp payments in 2026: review the product before the account.
Can you place a business with several cannabinoid product types?
Yes. List every product and its ingredients. Products are reviewed individually, so a complete list gets a clearer answer than a summary.
Do lab reports guarantee approval?
No. Certificates of analysis support the review, but underwriting also looks at labels, claims, the sales model and where products ship. We help you see what is missing before you apply.
Can you set up payments for an existing online store?
Yes. Tell us the platform you sell on and we tell you how the gateway connects to it. Most common store platforms connect to NMI or Authorize.net without rebuilding the store.
High-risk accounts
Get your application ready for underwriting.
We tell you what underwriting will ask for and prepare the file with you before it goes in.
Approvals usually come back within hours, three days at most.
Book a call