Why Do Payment Processors Restrict Tarot and Astrology Readers?

Some payment processors restrict tarot and astrology because their written merchant rules classify "psychic services," "fortune tellers," or "occult materials and services" as high chargeback-risk or explicitly prohibited categories. The exact rule varies by processor and, for some, by country — a reader has to check the specific policy rather than assume every processor treats the category the same way.

Processor eligibility and US law are two separate questions. A prohibited-business list is a private contract term a company can revise at will, while whether paid readings are regulated depends on the state or municipality: Pennsylvania criminalizes fortune telling for gain, New York exempts readings done "solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement," and Massachusetts requires a local license. The Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts statutes are each quoted with a citation below.

What does Stripe's restricted-business list actually say about psychic services?

Stripe's Prohibited and Restricted Businesses page names "Psychic services and fortune tellers" only inside its jurisdiction-specific lists for Japan, Mexico, and Thailand, and not on the worldwide prohibited or restricted lists, so a US-based reader is not blocked by Stripe's default category rules (Stripe, page last updated 2026-05-13).

Stripe's Thailand table is labeled "(Prohibited = P, Restricted = R)" and marks the line "Psychic services and fortune tellers" with a P for prohibited (Stripe, Prohibited and Restricted Businesses). Japan and Mexico list the same phrase under Stripe's "Jurisdiction-specific prohibited businesses" heading, which the page describes as "Countries that have specific prohibitions". The phrase "Psychic services and fortune tellers" appears 3 times in total on Stripe's Prohibited and Restricted Businesses page, once in each of those three country lists and 0 times on the worldwide prohibited or restricted lists.

A country's absence from Stripe's jurisdiction-specific tables is not an approval of psychic services, and Stripe says so in writing: "The types of businesses listed here are representative of prohibited categories, but this is not an exhaustive list".

"As a financial services company, we have to adhere to financial laws and regulations, as well as rules and policies set by our financial partners, such as card networks and banking partners. This means we aren't able to support some businesses, even if we might desire to do so." — Stripe, Prohibited and Restricted Businesses

Does Square prohibit tarot, astrology, or occult services?

Yes. Square's Payment Terms state, "Except where prohibited by law, you may not use the Payment Services for the following businesses or business activities," and item (25) on that numbered list of 31 barred activities is "occult materials and services" (Square Payment Terms). The clause is general, not a country-specific carve-out.

Square's own enforcement of that clause was documented by two named outlets in March 2017: Vice reporter Breena Kerr's March 31, 2017 article "Witches Are Being Kicked Off of Square For Selling 'Occult Items'" and Terence P Ward's March 22, 2017 report for The Wild Hunt both interviewed sellers whose Square accounts were closed over occult listings (Vice, Mar. 31, 2017; The Wild Hunt, Mar. 22, 2017). In the March 31, 2017 Vice report, a Square spokesperson defined the company's "occult" category as covering items that "claim they can perform a supernatural or metaphysical act or can be used in a way that is outside the normal physical limitations of the item," and attributed the ban to high chargeback rates.

The 2017 Vice and Wild Hunt reports are journalism, not Square policy documents, so they are evidence of how the clause has been applied rather than the rule itself. The rule itself is item (25) of Square's Payment Terms, "occult materials and services".

Does PayPal restrict tarot readers and psychic services?

Not by name. PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy, last updated October 29, 2022, contains 0 occurrences of the words "psychic," "occult," "fortune," "tarot," or "astrology" across its Prohibited Activities list and its 18-category "Activities Requiring Approval" chart (PayPal Acceptable Use Policy). A category left unnamed in a policy is not the same as a category the policy protects.

PayPal's policy opens its prohibited list with a catch-all: "You may not use the PayPal service for activities that: violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation". A reader in a jurisdiction that criminalizes paid fortune telling is therefore still exposed under that clause even though the word "tarot" never appears. PayPal can also add psychic or occult services in a future revision of a policy that has not been updated since October 29, 2022.

Why do processors call these categories "high-risk" in the first place?

Processors route intangible, personal-outcome services toward extra scrutiny because disputes are expensive across a whole merchant portfolio. Visa reports that consumers disputed approximately $11 billion in charges with US card issuers in 2023, up from $7.2 billion in 2019 (Visa, Introducing the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program).

Card networks have responded by consolidating merchant monitoring. The Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program took effect April 1, 2025 and merged five existing fraud and dispute programs into a single acquirer program while streamlining 38 distinct remediation processes into one. Categories that acquirers associate with elevated dispute rates are the ones most likely to be named in a written restricted-business list, though neither Visa nor Stripe publishes a per-category dispute rate for psychic services, so the link is a stated rationale rather than a published statistic.

Underwriting review does read your business description and site copy, and Stripe says so directly: its account-activation guidance requires that a business website, social media profile, or mobile application include the business name and "Descriptions of the goods or services offered," adding that "These must align with the information you've provided to Stripe" (Stripe Support, Business website for account activation FAQ). Stripe's restricted-business page adds that businesses in a restricted category "will be asked to provide additional information (such as proof of relevant licenses or more details about your business model)".

Is offering tarot or astrology readings for money illegal in the US?

There is no single national rule. Paid fortune telling is a third-degree misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, a class B misdemeanor in New York with an explicit entertainment exemption, and lawful in Massachusetts only with a local license. Federal exposure comes from consumer-protection law about advertising and billing, not from the practice itself. It's a similar patchwork to the legal questions around selling fan art or fan fiction commissions, where the underlying legality also turns on jurisdiction and how the offer is described rather than on the creative act itself.

Pennsylvania's statute makes it "a misdemeanor of the third degree if he pretends for gain or lucre, to tell fortunes or predict future events, by cards, tokens, the inspection of the head or hands of any person" (18 Pa.C.S. § 7104, Pennsylvania General Assembly). New York Penal Law § 165.35 makes fortune telling a class B misdemeanor "except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement" (NY Penal Law § 165.35, New York State Senate).

Massachusetts sets the residency requirement and the unlicensed-practice fine in statute: a license "shall be granted only to applicants who have resided continuously in the city or town in which the license is sought for at least twelve months," and "Whoever tells fortunes for money unless licensed under this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars" (M.G.L. c. 140, § 185I, Massachusetts General Court). Three states are not a national survey — check your own state and municipality, since ordinances vary at the city level.

Federal enforcement has targeted marketing and billing rather than reading. On November 14, 2002 the Federal Trade Commission settled with the promoters of the "Miss Cleo" psychic hotline, who agreed to forgive an estimated $500 million in outstanding consumer charges and pay an additional $5 million (FTC press release, Nov. 14, 2002). The FTC filed the underlying complaint against Access Resource Services and Psychic Readers Network in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on February 13, 2002, on a 5-0 Commission vote.

"The lesson in this case is that companies that make a promise in an ad need to deliver on it — whether it's about availability, performance, or cost." — J. Howard Beales III, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC press release, Nov. 14, 2002

Nothing on this page is legal advice, and processor policies change without notice, so verify current terms and your own local ordinances before relying on them.

What should a tarot or astrology reader check before picking a processor?

Read the processor's current published restricted-business page before building on it, and confirm three things: whether the category is named at all, whether the prohibition is worldwide or jurisdiction-specific, and the page's own last-updated date. Stripe's page carried a last-updated stamp of 2026-05-13 when checked (Stripe). The same paper trail that helps answer a dispute is also what a reader needs at tax time — see whether you need to save receipts for creator business expenses.

Practical checklist:

• Read the processor's restricted or prohibited list in full rather than a forum summary, and note its last-updated date.
• Check how your public listing describes the work, since Stripe requires that website descriptions of goods and services "align with the information you've provided to Stripe".
• Keep records of what was actually delivered — a saved transcript, an exported written reply, a scope note — so a dispute can be answered with evidence.
• Re-check the policy periodically, because a category absent from a 2022-dated or 2026-dated document today can appear in the next revision.

How does Brillay fit into this if it doesn't process payments directly?

Stripe handles Brillay's card processing and pays creators out, so Stripe's published restricted-business rules govern eligibility on Brillay exactly as on any other Stripe-powered product (how it works). See pricing and what payment methods creators can actually get paid through for how that compares to other ways to get paid. No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate.

For a US-based reader, the practical framing is to package the reading as a scoped, described service rather than an open-ended "psychic hotline" claim, keep marketing copy honest about what is and is not guaranteed, and check Stripe's jurisdiction lists directly before operating from Japan, Mexico, or Thailand. That framing holds regardless of audience size — see where your following falls among nano, micro, mid, and macro influencer tiers, since underwriting reads the listing itself, not the reach behind it. A Paid Questions offer lets a follower pay your set price for a short written pull or a single yes/no question, and you send back one written reply, while a longer written or recorded reading fits Custom Work with a set price and delivery time.

Related reading: how much to charge for a synastry or compatibility reading and how much to charge for an astrology reading cover pricing once eligibility is settled; the astrologer guide and the tarot reader guide cover getting a reading offer live end to end.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the five questions readers ask most about billing for tarot and astrology: whether Stripe bans the category, whether paid readings are legal in the US, why card networks call the category high-risk, whether Brillay supports reading services, and what listing wording lowers dispute risk.

Does Stripe ban tarot readers?

Not by default worldwide. Stripe's Prohibited and Restricted Businesses page lists "Psychic services and fortune tellers" inside its Japan, Mexico, and Thailand jurisdiction lists only, and not on the worldwide prohibited or restricted lists. Stripe also states the published list "is not an exhaustive list," so check the current page for your country.

Is tarot reading illegal in the US?

It depends on the state and municipality. Pennsylvania makes paid fortune telling a misdemeanor of the third degree under 18 Pa.C.S. § 7104, New York makes it a class B misdemeanor under Penal Law § 165.35 unless it is done "solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement," and Massachusetts permits it under a local license requiring 12 months' residency (Pennsylvania General Assembly; New York State Senate; Massachusetts General Court).

Why do card networks treat psychic and reading services as high-risk?

Because outcome-driven, intangible services are easy to dispute after delivery and disputes are costly to manage. Visa reports consumers disputed approximately $11 billion in charges with US card issuers in 2023, up from $7.2 billion in 2019, and launched the consolidated Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program on April 1, 2025.

Can I still sell tarot or astrology readings on Brillay?

Brillay runs on Stripe, so a creator's eligibility follows Stripe's current published restricted-business rules for their country. A reader operating from the United States should check Stripe's worldwide prohibited and restricted lists, which do not name psychic services, rather than the Japan, Mexico, or Thailand jurisdiction lists that do.

What should go in my listing to reduce dispute risk?

State exactly what is delivered (a written pull, a written reply, a live session), the delivery time, and that the reading is offered for entertainment or reflection rather than as a guaranteed prediction. Clear scope also matches Stripe's requirement that a site's descriptions of goods and services "align with the information you've provided to Stripe".

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