PayPal vs UK CBD Products: What’s Going On?

Published by Hempura at 08/04/2018

Estimated Read Time: 1 ½ minutes

PayPal vs. the UK CBD industry

By the end of 2019, there were 305 million active PayPal accounts worldwide, but though it is an incredibly popular money transfer platform, you will notice that our cannabis oil and supplement site doesn’t give the option to pay via Paypal.

PayPal, due to American law, class all CBD cannabidiol products as a narcotic, which means that the platform does not accept the transactions of any hemp-derived products. The stance that PayPal has taken is very similar to the stance that it has with any transactions that include cannabis plants.

This is due to the fact that PayPal’s policies and terms of use class CBD cannabidiol products as a controlled substance^[1]. Their stance is rooted in American law, despite the fact that the 2018 US Farm Bill (which came into effect January 1st 2019) made hemp a legal, agricultural commodity as long as it is cultivated under license and with less than 0.3% THC Content^[2].

Hempura CBD products, despite PayPal’s position on CBD, are completely legal in the UK, as they contain a THC level of 0.2% or less. It is only products with THC levels above 0.2% that are set apart as controlled substances under UK law. However, despite the fact that CBD products which meet the strict THC contents regulations are legal in the UK, there have been numerous reports of UK and global CBD retailers having their PayPal accounts frozen or closed down due to their ‘breach’ of PayPal’s terms of use. There is no way to appeal this decision, and the risk of a 180-day ‘freeze’ on any essential business funds held in PayPal means that the vast majority of legitimate and trusted CBD retailers can’t afford to risk accepting PayPal as a payment processor.

What does this mean for Hempura, and CBD UK products sold through the site?

We have formed an excellent partnership with a world-leading payment provider that does accept CBD transactions. Though we are unable to accept any PayPal payments, you don’t need to worry about accessing the best CBD has to offer and making secure payments via our store.

Our payment platform is easy to use and is fully certified with the PCI Security Standards Council. The platform is already processing upwards of 2 million different transactions every single month, with complete freedom on the platform for the use of debit and credit cards. The platform is fully secure and encrypted, so just like with PayPal, your information is safe.

What does the future hold for CBD products purchased online?

As legislation surrounding Hemp and CBD products continues to change and develop (both in the UK and globally), we will monitor the payment platform options available to ensure that we always have the safest and most convenient payment processing systems in place.