Why online vape retailers can't keep a processor
Mainstream processors prohibit vape outright
PayPal, Square, Stripe, and Venmo all ban e-cigarette and vape sales. Retailers cycle through obscure high-risk processors, each more expensive and less stable than the last.
The PACT Act shrank the ecosystem
Since the PACT Act extended to vaping products, shipping carriers and payment providers exited the category together — leaving compliant retailers with fewer options for reasons unrelated to their own conduct.
High-risk MIDs at punishing rates
The processors that remain charge 5%+ with reserves and monthly minimums, treating every vape shop like it's one complaint from closure — because to their acquiring bank, it is.
Chargebacks on shipped goods
Vape orders ship in required adult-signature channels that are slower and flakier, driving 'item not received' disputes you pay for even when tracking says delivered.
How Flint keeps vape retailers selling
A rail with no prohibited-category list pointed at you
Legal vape products are inside Flint's terms, not an exception. No acquiring bank upstream deciding this quarter that vape is out.
No chargebacks on shipped orders
Crypto payments are final on confirmation. Delivery disputes become customer-service conversations you control, not bank rulings that cost the product plus fees.
Keep your full margin
No 5–8% high-risk card rate, no reserve, no monthly minimum. Flint's published pricing is the same one every industry gets.
Same-day setup
No underwriting packet documenting your age-verification vendor and shipping matrix before you can accept a dollar. Create products, share checkout links, sell.
Works with your compliance stack
Flint handles payment; your age verification and PACT-compliant shipping flow stay exactly as you built them, triggered by our webhooks on confirmed orders.
Pick your plan
Monthly fee plus a rate per sale. Upgrade when volume picks up.
Starter
Free to start validating ideas.
Fees
5.00% + 50¢ per transaction
Features
- All features to sell
- Standard support
Pro
For builders & early teams.
Fees
3.80% + 40¢ per transaction
Features
- All features on Starter
- Preview access to new features
- Prioritized support
Growth
For scaling startups.
Fees
3.60% + 35¢ per transaction
Features
- All features on Pro
- Preview access to new features
- Prioritized support
Scale
For fast growing businesses.
Fees
3.20% + 25¢ per transaction
Features
- All features on Growth
- Dedicated account manager
- Custom SLAs
E-Cigarettes payment questions, answered
Is it legal to sell vape products online for crypto?
Where online vape sales are legal, the payment method doesn't change their legality — you must still comply with the PACT Act, age verification requirements, state flavor bans and taxes, and use compliant shipping. Crypto replaces the payment rail, not your compliance obligations.
Does Flint handle age verification?
No — age verification remains your responsibility through your existing verification vendor, exactly as with any payment method. Flint's webhooks fire when payment confirms, and your fulfillment flow (verification, adult-signature shipping) proceeds from there.
Do I still have to deal with PACT Act registration and reporting?
Yes. PACT obligations — ATF registration, state tax administrator reporting, adult-signature delivery — attach to selling and shipping the products, not to how customers pay. Flint's order records give you clean data for your reporting, but the obligation is yours.
What happens when a customer claims their order never arrived?
You resolve it through your own policy — reship, refund, or point to signature confirmation. What doesn't happen: an automatic bank reversal plus a $25 dispute fee while you hold a delivery receipt. Crypto payments have no chargeback mechanism.
My last three processors shut me down. Why is Flint different?
Those processors ran on acquiring banks that classify vape as prohibited or barely tolerated, so your account died with each policy shift. Flint processes crypto — there's no sponsor bank upstream with a category list. Vape retailers are a target customer, not tolerated risk.
Will my customers actually pay with crypto?
Vape buyers have been trained by processor bans to expect payment friction — eChecks, cash apps, weird workarounds. A clean hosted crypto checkout is often an upgrade on what they're used to, and many retailers offer a small discount to accelerate adoption.