Ordering vaping products online with Mastercard is about to get harder

Because of the FDA, ordering a new MOD or your favorite e-liquid with Mastercard is about to become a lot more painful. Vaping businesses will be affected as well.

Starting January 15, the credit card giant will impose a number of conditions on payment processors and their clients, making it harder for vape retailers to remain profitable while accepting Mastercard payments.

These changes are apparently the result of the FDA’s deeming rule, which places vape devices and e-liquid under the category of tobacco products. Selling tobacco products online or by phone falls into a high-risk category covered by Mastercard’s Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) compliance program.

Processing companies have already notified their vaping clients that they must comply with Mastercard’s rules by January 15. New requirements for card-not-present sales (online and phone orders) include:

Age verification for all customers

Meeting all new regulatory requirements for labeling, marketing, advertising, promotion, and manufacturing

Ensuring compliance with all federal and state requirements (verified by a letter from an attorney)

Registering with Mastercard through the credit card processor by January 15 (the fee is $500)

Displaying nicotine health warnings on their websites

Billing terms must be disclosed on the website

An adult signature must be obtained upon delivery

Adult signature required

While most of these new requirements may seem like common sense, they will cost money, which means higher prices for customers or lower profits for sellers. For example, hiring a lawyer to verify that all rules and procedures have been followed could be a major expense for very small businesses. Although the $500 registration fee may not seem too high, the other three major credit card companies are likely to follow Mastercard’s lead and introduce similar policies, creating comparable costs.

The worst rule among them is the requirement for an adult signature upon delivery. Not only is it inconvenient (how many people are home when the mail arrives?), but it is also expensive, adding about $7 to the cost of each shipment. At the same time, the USPS adult signature policy requires the signer to be at least 21 years old, which means legal adult vapers between the ages of 18 and 20 will no longer be able to shop online.

In addition, most online vape retailers do not have the ability to use separate shipping policies for each different payment method. For many vendors, adult signature will become standard operating procedure. This pointless rule will devastate small businesses.