Concerns About the Status of My Compliant CBD Account with Square

[BaldMountain]

Back in 2021 I chose Square to handle payments on my new CBD business--Square seemed like a decent outfit that welcomed legal, responsible CBD vendors.

I just do a few simple organic CBD products and hemp flower. I have nothing to do with mj, or THCa, or Delta8--everything I do conforms to Federal law, all products are lab tested with current COAs available on the website, etc. 

Everything has worked great but last November I got a notice from Square saying they would shut down my account unless I provided my current COAs directly to them (even though they're available on the website). So I provided the requested information immediately. Seemed all good. Then a week later I got another text saying I needed to remove some language on the site that made health claims about CBD (it was actually just discussing published scientific research but there was no way to try and get clarification or discuss the issue with Square so I just removed the content. 

Since then I've heard nothing, even though when I log into my account settings > requested information it says Square would respond within 2 business days about this issues. That was over 2 months ago. Meanwhile all my ecommerce transactions have continued to work as usual.

But I'm hearing from other CBD vendors that many of them are having their accounts suddenly locked and funds frozen by Square despite the vendors' attempts to cooperate and resolve any alleged issues.

Did something change at Square? Was there some decision to purge CBD vendors? Did the Square lawyers decide the recent explosion of THCa and Delta8 products was making the CBD space too risky? Or is something else going on? Nobody seems to know...

I'm now wondering if I should proactively move to a different payment solution before my account gets locked. It sounds as if there is typically no warning, just one day customers can't make purchases on your website and you can't access any funds in Square.

I'd love to stick with Square but not if I'm at risk of getting suddenly cancelled. Anyone have any insights or information on this? 

Thank you.

The title of this thread has been edited from the original by a Community Moderator to help with searching threads. 

[RobynR · Accepted solution]

Hey @BaldMountain,

I’d like to start by welcoming you to the Community, though I understand it's under frustrating circumstances.

At this time, Square has no intentions to cut off CBD sellers. Square does support legal CBD businesses, but compliance reviews are ongoing, and accounts may be flagged for additional verification at any time. Since you've already submitted your COAs and made the requested website updates, it’s unusual that you haven’t received a follow-up in over two months.  

I’ve escalated this to our Account Services team to request an email update—this process typically takes 1-3 business days, as cases are handled in the order they're received. So, I recommend contacting Square’s Support team directly for an update on your review status. To reach our support team by phone, give us a call at 855-700-6000 between 6 am-6 pm Pacific Time (9 am-9 pm Eastern Time), Monday through Friday.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any additional questions.