stripe, paypal, the credit card networks, they're not just processing payments anymore. they're making moral judgments about your business.
buried in their terms of service is something called an "acceptable use policy". this document decides what products can exist in the digital economy.
sure, they block obvious stuff like drugs and weapons. but they also block legal businesses they just don't like. ai tools? sometimes. subscription models? depends. anything that might cause "reputational risk"? definitely.
and here's the thing: "reputational risk" can mean literally anything. bad press? banned. controversial industry? banned. someone at stripe having a bad day? probably banned.
get banned and your business dies instantly. revenue stops. funds frozen. appeals process? good luck with that.
but the worst part isn't the businesses that get killed. it's all the businesses that never get started because people are too scared to try.
the innovation tax
want to build something slightly outside the mainstream? better budget for the "innovation tax."
you can't use the normal payment rails. you have to find sketchy alternatives that charge 3x the fees and take weeks to set up. assuming you can find them at all.
and here's the really messed up part: these are mostly american companies enforcing american corporate policies on the entire world. legal business in germany? doesn't matter. creative project in nigeria? tough luck. san francisco decides.
the good times
payment processors were utilities. build something, find customers, get paid. simple.
the regulations
governments started holding processors responsible for risky businesses. fair enough.
the moral police
processors started deciding what's morally acceptable. not so fair.
the alternatives
crypto and open banking start breaking the monopoly. finally.
why this matters
this isn't just about payments. it's about who gets to participate in the digital economy.
when a handful of companies can kill any business they don't like, that's not a free market. that's a controlled market with unelected controllers.
the internet was supposed to be permissionless. build something cool, put it online, see what happens. now? build something cool, hope stripe likes it, cross your fingers.
we need more competition, more transparency, and way less power concentrated in a few companies in silicon valley.
alternatives are coming. crypto payments, open banking, new fintech companies that actually compete instead of copying the same restrictive policies.
but until then, we're stuck with a system where the most important business decisions aren't made by entrepreneurs or customers or even governments.
they're made by risk managers at payment companies who've never built anything in their lives.