Restricted Businesses & Activities

This page covers what your business can do and still hold a Sorbet account. For where we can open accounts, see Country Eligibility. For what each currency and rail does, see Supported Currencies & Payment Methods.

Most freelance, agency, consulting and software businesses will never run into anything on this page. It matters if your business handles other people's money, sells in a regulated category, or sits close to one of the industries below.

Tell us during onboarding

If your business does any of the following, you need to declare it when you apply. These aren't automatic rejections — they're assessed case by case, and plenty of them get approved. What gets an account closed is finding out later that it wasn't disclosed.

• Money services — cheque cashing, gift cards, ATMs, remittances

• Lending or banking

• Foreign exchange, virtual currency brokerage, or OTC trading

• Holding client funds, including escrow

• Investment services

• Safe deposit box rental

• Digital asset exchange

• Third-party payment processing

If you're unsure whether something you do counts, declare it and ask. Disclosing something that turns out not to matter costs you nothing.

We can't onboard these industries

We can't open or keep an account for a business operating in any of the following:

• Unlawful or abusive activity

• Fraud

• Unfair, predatory or deceptive practices

• Intellectual property infringement

• Investment or credit services

• Cheque cashing

• Bail bonds

• Charities and NGOs

• Collections agencies

• Counterfeit or unauthorised goods

• Drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pseudo-pharmaceuticals

• Substances designed to mimic illegal drugs

• Pharmaceuticals

• Marijuana, cannabis and related services

• Tobacco and nicotine products

• Gambling

• Adult entertainment, content and services

• Multi-level marketing

• Undisclosed money services

• Undisclosed money transmission

• Unlicensed third-party money transmission

• Precious metals and gemstones

• Weapons and firearms

Charities and NGOs are on this list, which surprises people. It isn't a judgement about the work — non-profit structures carry source-of-funds requirements we can't currently meet. If you're raising or moving money for a registered non-profit, contact support before applying.

Note the two "undisclosed" entries. Money services and money transmission appear in the declare-it list above and here. The difference is disclosure: tell us up front and it's a conversation, don't and the account gets closed.

Good to know

We assess the business, not just the category. Two businesses that describe themselves the same way can get different answers, depending on who their customers are, where they operate, and how money reaches them.

Changing what you do means telling us. If your business moves into one of the declare-it categories after your account is open, let us know then. An account approved on one business profile isn't approved for a different one.

A rejection here isn't personal, and it isn't always permanent. Some of these restrictions come from the licensing and banking relationships behind the platform, and those change over time.

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Not sure which side of the line your business falls on? Contact Sorbet support — it's a faster conversation than a rejected application.