UK B2B SaaS first. Some businesses we accept, some we cannot, some need extra documentation. This is the honest list, the reasoning behind it, and the process if you are not sure.
Why this list exists.
Three things decide what Fluxa can and cannot process. UK law is the first. The Financial Services and Markets Act, the Payment Services Regulations 2017, the Gambling Act 2005, the UK sanctions regime under OFSI: these set hard lines we have no discretion over.
The second is card scheme rules. Visa and Mastercard each publish operating regulations that bind every merchant, every payments partner, and every payment facilitator on their networks. Those rules tell us we cannot process certain categories regardless of local legality, and they monitor chargeback and fraud ratios on every account we run.
The third is our own risk appetite. Fluxa is a small, focused company writing every onboarding decision by hand. Some categories are perfectly legal in the UK and accepted by larger processors. We still cannot take them today, because doing one industry well is harder than doing five badly and we have made the choice to focus.
The page below is the result of those three filters. Every line has a reason. If you think your business sits in a grey area, the contact form at the bottom reaches a human at Fluxa within a working day and we will tell you yes, no, or what extra paperwork we need.
Who we want to work with.
Fluxa was built for one merchant profile first. If you fit it, onboarding is straightforward. If you do not, we still want to hear from you, but expect more questions.
UK B2B SaaS
Software sold to other UK businesses, monthly or annual subscription, clear product, real customer service. This is the core ICP. £50k to £500k a month in card volume, near-zero refund profile.
Digital products
Downloads, courses, templates, licences, anything delivered on confirmation. Fulfilment is instant or clearly stated, terms are public, the offer matches the page.
Professional services
Agencies, consultancies, accounting, legal, design. Invoiced work or retainer billing. Engagement letters in place, work product traceable, refund policy written down.
Recurring billing
Subscription billing with clear opt-in, working cancellation, no dark-pattern renewal traps. Fluxa helps you build the flow so it passes scheme rules first time.
Won’t process. Ever.
These are hard prohibitions. UK law, card scheme rules, or both. No documentation will move a business in this list into the accepted column.
Illegal in any UK jurisdiction we operate in
Anything that breaches the Misuse of Drugs Act, the Firearms Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, or any other criminal statute. This includes goods or services that are legal elsewhere but illegal in the UK.
Anything sanctioned
Persons, entities, goods or services sanctioned by the UK (OFSI consolidated list), the United States (OFAC), the European Union, or the United Nations. This includes business in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Adult and sexual content
Pornography, escort services, sexually oriented entertainment, adult subscription platforms. Card schemes have explicitly removed this from the standard merchant category and our payments partner does not support it under our agreement.
Weapons, ammunition, explosives
Firearms, parts, ammunition, knives subject to the Offensive Weapons Act, fireworks for sale to the public, any equipment intended for use in violence. Sporting suppliers with full FAC paperwork need a specialist payments partner, not us.
Counterfeit goods, IP infringement
Replicas of branded goods, unlicensed reproductions, anything that infringes a registered trademark, copyright, or design right. The phrase “inspired by” is usually a flag.
Pyramid schemes, MLM
Multi-level marketing, network marketing, matrix schemes, any business model where most participant revenue comes from recruiting other participants rather than from end-customer sales.
Crypto exchanges, ICOs, NFT mints
Currency-to-crypto or crypto-to-crypto exchanges, initial coin offerings, NFT primary mints, custodial wallet services. The FCA cryptoasset regime opens September 2026; Fluxa will revisit this when the perimeter is clearer.
Payday lending, doorstep credit, debt collection
High-cost short-term credit, home-collected credit agreements, consumer debt purchase, debt management services. Each of these requires specific FCA permissions Fluxa does not hold.
Hate, terrorism, exploitation
Content or services that promote violence against any group, materials linked to proscribed terrorist organisations, anything connected to the exploitation of children. Zero tolerance, reported to the National Crime Agency where required.
Licensed industries we can take with documentation.
These categories are legal in the UK with the right permissions. Fluxa can process for them if you hold the licence, the licence is current, and you can show us the registration before onboarding.
Gambling with a UKGC operating licence
Remote casino, betting, bingo, or lottery under a current UK Gambling Commission operating licence. We need the licence number, the activities it covers, and confirmation you comply with LCCP Condition 5.1.2 on payment methods.
Travel with ATOL or ABTA
Travel agents, tour operators and package holiday sellers regulated by the CAA under ATOL or registered with ABTA. We need both the membership number and visible evidence on your booking flow.
Pharmacy with GPhC and MHRA
Registered UK pharmacies dispensing under General Pharmaceutical Council oversight, with MHRA authorisation for the products sold. Fluxa does not process for unregistered online sellers of prescription medicines.
Charities with Charity Commission registration
Registered charities in England and Wales (or OSCR in Scotland, CCNI in Northern Ireland) taking donations. Registration number on the receipt, Gift Aid handled cleanly.
Estate agents with HMRC AML registration
UK estate agency businesses registered with HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. We need the supervised firm reference and visible AML notices.
Prize competitions under the Gambling Act 2005
Genuine skill-based competitions under Section 14, or free-draw competitions with a valid Section 339 free entry route. Fluxa typically asks for a legal opinion letter from a UK gambling solicitor before onboarding.
Legal, but we don’t take.
These businesses are lawful in the UK and other processors will take them. Fluxa will not, today, because we are small and focused. We are saying this out loud rather than hiding behind a generic risk decline.
Tobacco, vaping, e-cigarettes
Age verification at the payment gateway is messy, HMRC excise rules add complexity, and the payments partner-side overhead does not work at our volume. A specialist high-risk processor is a better fit.
Telemedicine without GMC oversight
Online consultations that result in prescription medicines need a GMC-registered prescriber in the loop. Fluxa can take properly regulated UK telemedicine; we will not take cross-border models where the prescriber relationship is unclear.
Forex, CFDs, binary options
Retail trading platforms in derivatives or contracts for difference. Even with FCA permission these sit too far from our SaaS focus, and the dispute profile is not one we can underwrite well at our size.
Creator monetisation, tips, paid groups
Platforms that take a cut of creator tips, paid memberships, or paid community access. Card schemes have tightened rules here significantly and the moderation overhead is genuinely full-time work.
Multi-jurisdiction marketplaces
Platforms where sellers and buyers are spread across many countries with settlements in mixed currencies. Fluxa is UK-only, GBP-native, settling to UK bank accounts. A marketplace facilitator with international reach is a better fit.
Anything with future delivery over 12 months
Card scheme rules cap the gap between authorisation and fulfilment at 12 months. Pre-orders, deposits on long-lead projects, and crowdfunding-style commitments do not fit.
What we look at on review.
Every application is read by a human at Fluxa. The criteria below are what we work through before approving onboarding. None of it is a black-box score, all of it is grounded in scheme rules or our own published thresholds.
Chargeback ratio
Visa flags merchants at 0.9% monthly chargeback-to-sales ratio (VAMP standard). Fluxa watches from 0.65% so we have time to help before a card scheme notice arrives.
Refund rate
Above 5% refund-to-sales triggers a conversation about product, fulfilment, or sales claims. Above 10% on subscription billing is usually a renewal flow problem.
Business model clarity
A stranger reading your site for thirty seconds should understand what they are paying for, when they will get it, and how they cancel. If Fluxa cannot, we ask.
Fulfilment window
Up to thirty days is standard. Thirty days to twelve months requires us to see your fulfilment SOP and a clear T&C explanation. Over twelve months is outside the scheme rules entirely.
Marketing claims
“Guaranteed returns”, “miracle”, “limited time” countdowns that reset, hidden recurring billing, fake reviews. Any of these and the application stops.
Cancellation flow
Subscription cancellation needs to be at least as easy as the sign-up. UK consumer law and CMA enforcement on subscription traps is sharpening; Fluxa is getting ahead of it.
Customer service
A real contact email, a real reply time, a complaints process. Fluxa sends merchants to /complaints on our side and we expect equivalent on yours.
Source-of-funds clarity
Where the merchant is funded matters for AML. Founders, revenue, bank facility, equity round: all fine and normal. Unexplained large balances or cash-deposit patterns are a stop.
When we’d hold funds.
Settlement reserves are a tool of last resort. Fluxa will only impose one when scheme rules require it or when the merchant’s pattern genuinely shifts. If we hold funds, we tell you why in writing, what would release them, and how long the hold runs.
Chargeback spike
Sudden rise above the thresholds above without explanation. Fluxa typically holds a rolling reserve equal to one week of card volume until the rate normalises.
Refund spike
Refund rate doubling month-on-month, usually a sign of a product or fulfilment failure. Fluxa holds enough to cover the trailing thirty days of refunds.
Material change without notice
Merchant moves from SaaS to physical goods, or adds an unrelated revenue line, without telling Fluxa. Scheme rules require us to re-underwrite before that volume settles.
Identity change unverified
Change of director, change of registered office, change of beneficial owner that Fluxa has not been told about. We pause settlement pending KYC refresh.
Pending regulatory action
FCA, UKGC, CMA, ICO, or another UK regulator opens an investigation that could affect the merchant’s ability to refund customers. Fluxa follows the regulator’s direction.
Disputes consistent with fraud
Visa fraud-to-sales above 0.9% (the VAMP threshold), Mastercard equivalent, or a pattern of dispute reason codes that indicate cardholder identity misuse.
Unexplained volume surge
Card volume tripling overnight without a corresponding marketing event. Often legitimate, occasionally a signal of test-card fraud or bonus abuse. Fluxa pauses until we have a conversation.
If we have to stop processing.
The decision is written down by a human at Fluxa, not generated by a rule engine. It comes with the specific reason, the rule or threshold cited, and a path to remedy if one exists.
For voluntary offboarding Fluxa gives thirty days’ written notice unless law forces faster. For scheme-rule offboarding (chargeback monitoring placement, MATCH listing risk, fraud detection rules) we follow Visa and Mastercard timelines, which can be immediate. Either way you get the actual reason in plain English, not “risk”.
You can appeal directly to the founder addresses below. We will read it, reply within a working day, and where the appeal is reasonable we will reconsider. Where we cannot, we will help you migrate to a processor that fits, including export of your transaction history.
Held funds are released on the schedule agreed at the point of holding, or as scheme rules permit, whichever is later. Fluxa does not extend reserves quietly.
What we expect from you.
Tell Fluxa what you sell, accurately and in plain English. The description you give at onboarding is the description we use to assess scheme rule compliance for the life of the account.
Tell us when something material changes: a new product line, a new fulfilment model, a new corporate parent, a change of registered office. We would rather hear it from you on a Tuesday than from a scheme enforcement notice on a Friday.
Keep your customer service findable and responsive. A working email, a clear refund policy, a complaints page that names a human. If a cardholder cannot reach you, they reach their bank, and the chargeback that follows is more expensive than the support email would have been.
Stay inside scheme rules. Visa and Mastercard publish operating regulations annually; Fluxa sends any material change to merchants on the account. Twelve-month maximum between authorisation and fulfilment, no use of card data outside agreed terms, no re-selling Fluxa to third parties.
Keep PCI scope where Fluxa built it: SAQ-A. Card data goes through our hosted or tokenised flows. Do not store PANs on your own systems. If you do, scope changes to SAQ-A-EP or SAQ-D, and that is your responsibility, not ours.
When this page changes.
This list is reviewed quarterly and whenever a card scheme, UK regulator, or our payments partner publishes a material rule change. Fluxa logs every change at /changelog with the date, the section that moved, and the reason.
If a change affects a category you already operate in, we email the contact on the account at least thirty days before it takes effect, unless the underlying rule mandates a faster timeline. You do not need to monitor this page; we will tell you.
Last reviewed May 2026. Next scheduled review August 2026.
Got a question about your business?
Tell Fluxa what you sell and we’ll tell you within a working day whether we can process it. No qualifying call, no sales handover, just a written answer. A ten-minute email saves a month of build time on a flow we cannot process.