Acceptable Use Policy

Last updated: 5/25/26  ·   Effective: 5/25/26

This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) describes the products, services, and activities that are prohibited or restricted when using Helping Wishes (“we,” “us,” or the “Company”), including our websites, stores, and any service that processes payments on our behalf.

We use third-party payment processors, including Stripe, to accept payments. Our customers and users must also comply with the rules of those processors. This Policy is designed to align with Stripe’s Prohibited and Restricted Businesses List. Where this Policy and a payment processor’s rules differ, the stricter rule applies. Payment processor rules are updated from time to time, and the processor’s current published list governs.

1. Your agreement

By using our services, making a purchase, making a donation, or otherwise transacting with us, you agree to comply with this Policy. If you sell, list, fundraise, or transact through any platform or account we operate, you also agree not to engage in any prohibited activity and not to engage in any restricted activity without obtaining the approvals described below.

You are responsible for ensuring that your own activity, products, and marketing comply with all applicable laws and with the rules of the payment processors involved in your transaction.

2. Prohibited businesses and activities

The following businesses, products, services, and activities are not permitted in connection with our services under any circumstances.

Illegal products and services

•     Any products or services that are illegal in the jurisdictions where the business is located or to which it is targeted.

•     Illegal drugs, controlled substances, and substances designed to mimic illegal drugs (including kava).

•     Equipment or items intended for making or using drugs.

•     Fake references, fake identification, or document falsification services.

•     Telecommunications manipulation equipment, including signal jamming devices.

•     Businesses that engage in, encourage, promote, or celebrate unlawful violence or physical harm to persons or property, or unlawful violence toward any group based on a protected or immutable characteristic.

Adult content and services

•     Adult services, including prostitution, escort services, pay-per-view, sexual massage, fetish services, mail-order brides, and adult live-chat.

•     Adult video stores, gentlemen’s clubs, topless bars, and strip clubs.

•     Pornography and other mature-audience content created for the purpose of sexual gratification, including any AI-generated content meeting this description.

Gambling and games of chance

•     Gambling, internet gambling, casino games, lotteries, sweepstakes, and contests with a monetary or material prize.

•     Games of skill or fantasy sports with a monetary or material prize.

•     Entry or player fees that promise a prize of value, sports forecasting or odds-making for prizes, and bidding-fee (penny) auctions.

Restricted financial products and services

•     ATMs, check cashing, money orders, and traveler’s checks.

•     Debt collection agencies.

•     Debt relief, debt settlement, debt negotiation, and debt consolidation.

•     Funded proprietary trading.

•     Peer-to-peer money transmission, payable-through accounts, shell banks, and the sale of bearer shares.

•     Loan repayments by credit card; credit monitoring, credit repair, and credit counseling services.

Intellectual property infringement

•     Sale or distribution of music, movies, software, or licensed material without authorization.

•     Counterfeit goods and unauthorized sale of brand-name or designer goods.

•     Illegally imported or exported goods.

•     Any products or services that infringe or facilitate infringement of a third party’s trademark, patent, copyright, trade secret, proprietary, or privacy rights.

Weapons, explosives, and dangerous materials

•     Illegal weapons and accessories.

•     Improperly marked replica firearms, including toys.

•     Pesticides requiring application by a certified professional.

•     Incorrectly labeled research chemicals.

•     Toxic, flammable, combustible, or radioactive materials, and goods that are unmailable per postal regulations.

Marijuana and cannabis

•     Cannabis products, dispensaries, and related businesses.

•     CBD products with THC above the applicable local legal limit, including CBD edibles.

•     Equipment marketed for growing marijuana, and courses or information on cultivating marijuana.

Unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices

The following are prohibited because they may contravene rules or guidance from the FTC, CFPB, or comparable consumer-protection regulators:

•     Pyramid schemes and multi-level marketing offering commission- or recruitment-based sales.

•     “Get rich quick” schemes, predatory investment opportunities, and offers promising high rewards for little effort or money down.

•     Businesses that make outrageous claims, use fake or deceptive testimonials, use high-pressure upselling, or offer unrealistic incentives to induce a purchase.

•     Negative-option marketing, negative-option membership clubs, and reduced-price trials with unclear or hidden pricing.

•     No-value-added resale of services or government offerings; sales of online traffic or engagement.

•     Telemarketing, door-to-door sales, predatory mortgage consulting, and suspicious remote technical support.

Other prohibited categories

•     Nutraceuticals or pseudo-pharmaceuticals that are unsafe or make harmful claims.

•     Cryptocurrency mining and staking, initial coin offerings (ICOs), and secondary NFT sales.

•     Identity-theft protection, monitoring, and recovery services.

•     Bankruptcy attorneys, bail bonds, and law firms collecting funds for purposes other than legal service fees.

•     Commercial airlines and cruises; international (cross-border) charter and private airlines; timeshare services.

•     Unauthorized or misleading government services, and disbursement of government economic support such as grants.

3. Restricted businesses (prior approval required)

The businesses and activities below are not automatically prohibited, but they require additional due diligence and, in many cases, explicit prior approval from the relevant payment processor. If your activity falls into one of these categories, you must disclose it to us and may be required to provide licenses, certifications, or other documentation. Approval is specific to each service and may be modified or revoked at any time.

Regulated industries

•     CBD products containing only negligible amounts of THC, within local limits.

•     Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets (limited availability).

•     Financial services, including investment and brokerage, lending, money transmission and currency exchange, escrow, buy-now-pay-later, mortgage consulting, and neobanks.

•     Legal firearms and other weapons (limited availability; prohibited where illegal).

•     Pharmaceuticals, regulated medical devices, online pharmacies, prescription products, and telemedicine or telehealth services.

•     Tobacco products, e-cigarettes, e-liquid, and related production equipment.

Fundraising, donations, and crowdfunding

•     Fundraising by nonprofits, charities, political organizations, and businesses offering a reward in return for a donation.

•     Crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding platforms (limited availability and country-specific).

•     Charity sweepstakes and raffles run for fundraising purposes (country-specific availability).

Other restricted categories

•     Content-creation platforms that host third-party content and let creators receive tips or sell exclusive content.

•     Online dating and matchmaking services.

•     Cyberlocker and file-sharing services.

•     First-party NFT minting and sales; high-value goods, precious metals, and stones.

•     Sale of stored value, gift cards, in-game currency, or preloaded credits maintained by anyone other than the seller.

•     Payment facilitation and aggregation on behalf of third-party sellers.

•     Travel reservation services and clubs, in-flight purchases, and domestic charter air travel (limited availability).

Some jurisdictions impose additional country-specific restrictions. If you operate in or target customers outside the United States, you are responsible for checking the processor’s jurisdiction-specific rules.

4. Prohibited uses of payment services

Regardless of industry, the following uses of our payment services are not permitted:

•     Providing false, inaccurate, manipulated, or misleading information about your identity, business, or the nature of your activity. You must promptly notify us of any change to that information.

•     Processing payments on behalf of an undisclosed merchant, or for products or services not disclosed in the account application.

•     Processing transactions where there is no genuine good, service, or donation; card testing.

•     Using payment services principally as a virtual terminal by manually keying in card information.

•     Evading card-network chargeback or fraud-monitoring programs.

•     Cross-border acquiring outside the acquiring entity’s jurisdiction except as permitted by card-network rules.

•     Sharing cardholder information with another business for cross-selling.

5. Sanctioned jurisdictions and persons

We do not transact, directly or indirectly, with persons located in, resident in, or citizens of jurisdictions subject to comprehensive sanctions, or with products or services originating from them. This currently includes Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions.

We also do not transact with any individual or entity named on a restricted party or sanctions list maintained by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United Nations, including lists maintained by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

6. Enforcement and consequences

We may, at our discretion and without prior notice, decline a transaction, withhold or delay a payout, impose a reserve, suspend or terminate access to our services, and report activity to a payment processor or to authorities where required by law. A payment processor may independently take any of these actions, and we cannot override a processor’s decision.

Engaging in a prohibited activity, or a restricted activity without required approval, may result in account closure, loss of funds, chargeback liability, and other consequences described in our Terms of Service and the applicable payment processor’s agreement.

7. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy at any time to reflect changes in law, payment processor rules, or our own practices. The version posted here is the current version. Continued use of our services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

8. Contact

Questions about this Policy, or about whether a particular activity is permitted, can be sent to info@helpingwishes.org.