PayPal has banned vape payments
In a very surprising turn of events, the large online cash flow company PayPal has suddenly banned all vape-related payments with their updated policy.
This means that many vape businesses and individuals trying to make purchases have been locked out of their own PayPal accounts for up to 180 days.
This change has hit us without warning, meaning lots of vape businesses can no longer access their own cash. This is likely to be detrimental for small vape businesses who need access to this cash in order to stay afloat, especially right now in the middle of a global pandemic.
Many businesses will also be struggling to quickly find alternative tools to manage their cash flow - again - without any pre-warning from PayPal that this change would occur.
As a Vape Simple customer, this means you can still pay for your transactions by card - this will not be affected. You simply won’t be able to checkout via PayPal for the foreseeable future.
The PayPal help centre has stated:
"PayPal generally prohibits transactions for all types of tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco due to legal requirements and industry regulations for online tobacco sales."
However, I think it’s fairly obvious that vape products are not tobacco-based. Isn’t this the whole point of vaping after all? E-liquids are comprised of vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), flavourings, and nicotine. A liquid combination that contains no trace of tobacco whatsoever. The vast majority of e-liquids don’t even contain nicotine anymore since the new laws were implemented stating that a bottle larger than 10ml must be nicotine-free!
Furthermore, PayPal’s terms of service seem to be pretty unclear when it comes to vape products. There is actually no mention of “tobacco products” in the standard user agreement.
So yes, it’s quite unclear why this change in policy has been dropped on us so suddenly.
The online vape retailer Creme de Vape stated:
“Over the last few weeks, PayPal has been busy shutting down PayPal accounts associated with Vape companies. Today it was our turn, after 11 years using their services, they shut down our account without warning!”
The vape company FastTech stated:
“We're very sorry to inform you that PayPal officially revised the Acceptable Use Policy regarding e-cigarette related products, transactions involving most of the e-cigarette products will be prohibited from now.”
The vape manufacturing company Supergood stated:
“We heard from other businesses that something was happening, but no communication from PayPal”
It’s clear to see that many vape companies - including us at Vape Simple - have been affected by this sudden change. Many companies have also contacted PayPal for comment or explanation, but are yet to receive any response.
Nevertheless, this is a time for all of us to stand together and work through these difficulties. And, of course, the satisfaction of our Vape Simple customers will continue to be at the forefront of our efforts.
