Merchant rules

Who can apply

A business registered in the United States, with a US bank account in the business's name, and a live website that shows prices, a refund policy, terms and contact details. Stripe also has to be able to verify the business and its owners.

What is verified

Candor reviews every new account within one business day after it opens: what you sell, and your website and what it claims about your products. We may ask for recent processing statements if you already take cards. Stripe, which processes payments for Candor merchants, then verifies the business itself: its registration and EIN, every owner with 25% or more, with photo ID, and its bank account. Banks call this "know your customer". Anti-money-laundering rules and card network rules both require it.

How it's collected

You open your account on this website with your email and a 6-digit code we send you: no password. On your Candor account page, Stripe then collects your ID and bank details itself, in its own secure forms. Candor never collects ID numbers or bank details through this website or by email, and nobody from Candor will ask you for them by phone or chat.

How long a decision takes

Your account opens as soon as you've confirmed your email with a code and agreed to your price and these rules. Stripe then asks for your business's details, ID and bank account on your Candor account page. You can take payments once Stripe has verified you: its check usually takes a few minutes, and sometimes a few business days. Candor's own review follows within one business day for most businesses, and 3 to 5 for businesses that need extra review. If your business doesn't fit these rules, we close the account and tell you why, ideally before your first payout, which usually comes 7 to 14 days after your first payment. Higher-risk businesses that need a custom price should talk to us first.

Your price

Your account page shows your plan and every price that applies to you, and you agree to it before you set up your account with Stripe. If we ever change your price, you confirm the new one there before your next payment link, and we give you 30 days' written notice first.

Reserves

Candor doesn't set reserves. Stripe, which covers losses on Candor accounts, can hold back part of your balance as a reserve if it sees a risk, such as a jump in disputes or refunds. If it does, it tells you directly, by email, and your Candor dashboard shows what it needs from you. Tell us too, and we'll help you respond.

Payouts

Every business day, unless you choose weekly or monthly payouts in your Candor settings; you can change that any time. Card payments are paid out about two business days after the payment, and bank payments (ACH) about four. Your first payout takes longer, usually 7 to 14 days after your first payment, while Stripe gets to know a new account. A payout due on a weekend or a federal bank holiday arrives the next business day, and your Candor dashboard shows each payout's expected date. If you need money sooner, an instant payout reaches an eligible bank account in about 30 minutes, any day, for 1.5% of the payout, at least 50¢. Stripe decides which accounts can use them, and new accounts aren't eligible right away.

Holds

Candor can't pause your payouts. Stripe can slow or pause payouts, or pause payments, while it checks something, and it shows you what it needs. Send it, and tell us: we aim to reply within one business day and help you get it resolved.

Dispute limits

We count disputes and fraud reports against your payments for the month. At 0.5% we email you a warning and suggested fixes. At 0.9% we agree a written action plan with you. At 1.2% we review the account. Stripe watches the same numbers and can act on its own.

For comparison, Visa's limit is 1.5% of card-not-present payments, counting fraud reports plus disputes once a business has 1,500 or more in a month. Mastercard's is 1.5% of the previous month's payments, once a business has 100 or more chargebacks in a month.

Leaving

Cancel any time, with no early-termination fee. Payment links don't store your customers' cards, so there's no card data to move.

Ending an account

Candor ends an account immediately only for fraud, illegal or prohibited sales, or when Stripe or a card network requires it. Otherwise you get 30 days' notice. Stripe can also close an account under the Stripe Connected Account Agreement; if it does, we tell you what we know. Candor doesn't report businesses to Mastercard's MATCH list; the processor's bank must, when it closes an account that meets Mastercard's criteria.

What we accept

Stripe's list of prohibited and restricted businesses applies to every Candor account, and Stripe has the final say.

• Accepted

  Ecommerce, SaaS, digital products, online courses, coaching, agencies and professional services.

• Extra review

  Subscriptions and free trials with clear terms; supplements and nutraceuticals that are safe and make no misleading claims; high-ticket offers, but not get-rich-quick schemes; travel booking, but not airlines, cruises or timeshares; and hemp-derived CBD that meets the federal hemp definition, with lab certificates and Stripe's approval.

• With certification

  Telehealth and pharmacy, only with LegitScript certification and Stripe's approval.

• Not yet

  Crypto exchanges and legal firearms, which Stripe supports only with its approval.

• Never

  Illegal goods or services; marijuana sales that are illegal under federal law; prescription drugs without a valid prescription; research chemicals or peptides sold for human use; counterfeit goods; adult content; gambling; pyramid schemes, and multilevel marketing paid on recruitment; get-rich-quick schemes; debt relief and credit repair; sanctioned people or countries; and selling under someone else's account.

What you agree to

• Describe what you sell accurately, on your website and in your ads.
• Show your refund policy, terms and contact details where customers can find them before paying.
• Tell customers clearly what they're agreeing to with trials and subscriptions, remind them before a trial turns into a charge, and make cancelling easy. Candor's subscription plans send the reminder and give subscribers a page to cancel.
• Bill customers only for what they've agreed to buy, whether by payment link, invoice, subscription or the API.
• Keep your API key and webhook signing secret on your own server, and make new ones on your Candor account page straight away if either gets out.
• Use a name on card statements that customers will recognize.
• Ship what you sell, when you said you would, and answer customers' questions.
• Process payments only for your own business, and tell us before you change what you sell.
• Keep to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which you accept when you set up your account.

If you came through a partner

Partners who refer or sign up merchants follow their own published rules. They never promise approval, never collect card numbers or ID documents by email or chat, and always say they're an independent partner of Candor Payments. Read the partner rules.

These are Candor's merchant rules, last updated October 26, 2026. With your price, they're what you agree to on your Candor account page. The Stripe Connected Account Agreement also applies, and Stripe's rules apply wherever they're stricter.