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Green.Money™

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Real World Examples of Account Shutdowns

🔌 Square / Block
 

  • May 2013: Square updated its terms to prohibit firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, and weapons-related sales—effectively terminating accounts from FFL dealers or accessory stores. According to Forbes, Square “stops gun sellers from using its payment technology”. CLICK HERE
     

  • January 2021: Columbia Booksellers in California—selling non-firing replica firearms—had its Square account abruptly terminated. The owners said:

     

    “This came out of the blue… They just shut it down and said the decision is not reversible." CLICK HERE

    As a result, they had to close both their physical and online store, being cut off from payment processing with no recourse.

💳 PayPal / Stripe / Square (Gladwin Guns lawsuit)
 

  • A federal FFL dealer, Gladwin Guns and Ammo (Merced, CA), filed three separate lawsuits—against PayPal, Stripe, and Square—claiming discrimination under California law and the Second Amendment for refusing to process firearms and ammunition payments. CLICK HERE

⚠️ Stripe – Algorithmic shutdowns on high‑risk merchants
 

  • Numerous Stripe merchants report sudden account closures, often flagged as “high risk” with vague reasoning. For example, a Redditor recounted:

     

    “Stripe Accounts Terminated after 3 days… only transaction done was by developers to test… THAT TOO IN TEST MODE!” CLICK HERE
     

  • A Hacker News discussion revealed that Stripe (and peers like Square/PayPal) regularly waits until accounts scale, then “scrubs” them—terminating hundreds of high-volume merchants—with funds frozen. CLICK HERE
     

Stripe itself, along with numerous consultants, confirm this pattern: automated/algorithmic account shutdowns for high-risk categorizations, often without warning or clarity, with funds held to cover chargebacks.

🛒 Shopify Payments
 

  • As of June 2025, Shopify Payments maintains a strict ban on gun-related sales. While Shopify Plus allows third-party payment integrations, the native gateway remains off-limits, impacting accessory stores that hoped for seamless payments. CLICK HERE

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