Credit Card Company Refused To Process Transaction

[grandmato5]

As stated above.......... Apparently, banks are attributing the denials to the PACT Act, or Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, which doesn't mention anything about e-cigs or e-liquid.

I got an e-mail reply from my bank (in Oklahoma) and they mentioned the PACT ACT document and called the block put on my Visa as a ....... " High Risk Internet Cigarette Merchants Block ".

They said I should google the PACT ACT for more information......by the way this is a federal act...

Your bank needs to talk to their lawyers. Right now, electronic cigarettes do NOT fall under the PACT Act. After the FDA's deeming regulation goes into effect (if and when that happens) then most likely ecigs will fall under the PACT Act.

The "High risk internet cigarette merchant block" has been the reason given for a while now as to why many credit card processors won't do business with ecig vendors.

 

[catalinaflyer]

Capitol One (my card company) refused a charge on the 1st to Luxor Vapes. According to customer service it's because of the name and they are refusing charges for "illicit/illegal paraphernalia"

If this becomes the "standard" for card processing centers then this will be a huge problem since most B&M's also use cards for purchasing from their suppliers.

 

[FilterLess]

This has me worried as I am new to all this, but using my MasterCard I ordered my first vape equipment from AvidVaper, MyVapeStore, VirginVapor, and ViperVape late last night with no problems. Shame I had to go to so many to get everything I wanted but thankfully it went through this time. I hope there is a legally educated vapor here that can offer incite to our rights as card holders.

 

[house mouse]

Just some of the business that have difficulties finding credit card processors. Most of these business have higher than usual occurrences of CC charge backs. It makes sense that some CC processors would change Terms of Use at the first of the year. Typically, small vendors not paying attention to their CC processor can get caught by an unpleasant surprise. This has nothing to do with the feds.

Traditional Hard-to-Place Merchants

Airlines
Adult Websites
Collection Agencies
Credit Repair
Debt Collection
Global Charities
Health / Herbal Supplements
Inbound Telemarketing
Online Dating
Online Hotel Reservations
Online Niche Foods
Online Pharmacies
Online Shopping Malls
Outbound Telemarketing
Tobacco Sellers
Travel Related Services
Web Hosting Companies

I don't think so. Banks are real fast to point the finger at a company's CC processor when there's an issue with them with a transaction going through. People are being told by their banks that it's related to the PACT act. Doesn't seem likely to be a processor issue this time or the banks would simply say so.

 

[Uncle Willie]

I'm pretty sure this is just a bank merchant or gateway processor that changed their Terms of Use as of January 1st. Many/most already do not allow those transactions as they consider them "high risk". Most online vape stores must use high-risk processors because regular credit card banks will not touch it.

This is exactly correct ..

 

[AmandaD]

I've placed a bunch of order this week using AmEx and haven't had any problems.

 

[Uncle Willie]

Your bank needs to talk to their lawyers. Right now, electronic cigarettes do NOT fall under the PACT Act. After the FDA's deeming regulation goes into effect (if and when that happens) then most likely ecigs will fall under the PACT Act.

The "High risk internet cigarette merchant block" has been the reason given for a while now as to why many credit card processors won't do business with ecig vendors.

Keep in mind that these type transactions are not being monitored by actual humans .. the software is designed to detect key words .. like "cigarette" ...

 

[jjrose]

This explanation came from a FB group.

I have confirmed this is coming from ELAN. This is the company that provides credit cards to most banks and the memo originated from them based on the PACT Act, but the act only pertains to Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco. Chances are when you set up w/ your merchant provider your merchant provider you put your SIT Code as 5993, this pertains to smoking and they are linking anything under that code as tobacco to adhere to the law. We are working w/ lobbyist and legislators to get in touch w/ ELAN to see how we can fix this problem. I dont now how much trouble it would be to change the SIT code that you set up w/ but its something to look into.

 

[NicoHolic]

This doesn't bode well for any company with any of the following in their name:

vape(s)
vapor(s)
vaping
(e | e-)cig(s)
(e | e-)cigarette(s)
eliquid(s)
e-liquid(s)
smoke(s)
tobacco(s)
cigar(s)
snuff
snus

 

[Hypatia]

This explanation came from a FB group.

I have confirmed this is coming from ELAN. This is the company that provides credit cards to most banks and the memo originated from them based on the PACT Act, but the act only pertains to Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco. Chances are when you set up w/ your merchant provider your merchant provider you put your SIT Code as 5993, this pertains to smoking and they are linking anything under that code as tobacco to adhere to the law. We are working w/ lobbyist and legislators to get in touch w/ ELAN to see how we can fix this problem. I dont now how much trouble it would be to change the SIT code that you set up w/ but its something to look into.

Well, that sounds plausible. However, I'm confused by two transactions I made today. Here's a timeline of events:

Nicoticket: Visa debit declined; MC credit card accepted. Great! Time to order some SHTF nicotine stash, lol.

Wizard Labs: MC credit card declined (WHAT?!). Visa debit ACCEPTED (double WHAT?!). (Yes, plenty of $$$ in both accounts, each purchase less than $75).

It seems there's more going on than just a simple merchant coding/TOS problem. Two vendors, two different cards declined/accepted...Seems no rhyme or reason to this.

 

[frank.gotch]

Well, that sounds plausible. However, I'm confused by two transactions I made today. Here's a timeline of events:

Nicoticket: Visa debit declined; MC credit card accepted. Great! Time to order some SHTF nicotine stash, lol.

Wizard Labs: MC credit card declined (WHAT?!). Visa debit ACCEPTED (double WHAT?!). (Yes, plenty of $$$ in both accounts, each purchase less than $75).

It seems there's more going on than just a simple merchant coding/TOS problem. Two vendors, two different cards declined/accepted...Seems no rhyme or reason to this.

Maybe each company/issuing bank has their own list of unapproved merchants. Just because we know some of these vendors names so well doesn't mean they are obvious to banks.

That being said it sucks for you guys if this is whats going on. Canadian vendors (in my limited experience anyways) don't accept Visa/Mastercard/PayPal I'm guessing for similar reasons so usually EMT transfers are used. I've never had a problem, but it's my understanding that if I DID ever had a problem, there isn't much recourse as far as getting a refund for nonshipment etc..

 

[BillyWJ]

Sounds like everyone who's effected needs to call their CC/debit companies and tell them if they don't work to change this, then you will stop doing business with them.

The ONLY thing banks and credit card companies pay attention to is people closing accounts. If you think closing a checking account with a few thousand in it is no big deal, trust me, enough close for a branch, the branch manager and other higher ups can lose their jobs.

I have NO problem closing my CC's and changing banks.

The politicians who passed this act need to be contacted, too. I'm sick of them deciding who and what and where I can do business online with, this Nanny State nonsense has to stop!

I have a STRONG suspicion the act was more about stopping sales from Indian reservations than any other concern.

We'll see what happens, it also effects porn (adult sites) and dating sites. That's a BIG business, and there's going to be a lot of unhappy people.

 

[yzer]

merchant account

Merchant account - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Uncle Willie]

Well, that sounds plausible. However, I'm confused by two transactions I made today. Here's a timeline of events:

Nicoticket: Visa debit declined; MC credit card accepted. Great! Time to order some SHTF nicotine stash, lol.

Wizard Labs: MC credit card declined (WHAT?!). Visa debit ACCEPTED (double WHAT?!). (Yes, plenty of $$$ in both accounts, each purchase less than $75).

It seems there's more going on than just a simple merchant coding/TOS problem. Two vendors, two different cards declined/accepted...Seems no rhyme or reason to this.

Like I said, these are software driven keyword detectors .. it's possible the keywords being looked for did not appear ..

 

[patkin]

We're all sure getting a taste of what life would be with internet sales banned.

 

[Uncle Willie]

I think it's odd that the PACT Act is being invoked since it came out in 2010 .. unless there is some amendment I'm not aware of ..

One of the fears I've always had regarding the PV and liquid is it becoming under the umbrella of the ATF ..

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) Frequently Asked Questions | ATF

 

[ctkid57]

I made a purchase from Johnson Creek yesterday, now that transaction is gone from the detail of my account. I made another purchase today and it is still in the detail. I am going to follow it up.

 

[salemgold]

This does not surprise me at all. credit card companies have not allowed the purchase of tobacco for many years now. Before I quit smoking, I was buying cigs from Europe and I had to pay by echeck because none of the credit card companies allow the purchase of cigs or tobacco products.

Since vaping products have been classified as tobacco, this was bound to happen IMO

 

[Decimate]

Made an order from mt baker yesterday through chase bank with no problems

 

[WillyZee]

The most troublesome part ... is if this CC denial starts spreading nation wide