Acceptable Use Policy

This policy is part of the Terms of Service. It applies to every merchant account, in the sandbox and in live mode. The rules of card networks and of the Payment Partners that process your payments also apply; where they are stricter than this policy, they prevail.

Prohibited businesses

You may not use KukoPay to accept payments for:

• Anything illegal where you or your customer are located, or anything that breaks card network or payment method rules.
• Sanctioned parties and places: persons, entities or regions subject to sanctions of the United Nations, Hong Kong, the United States, the European Union or the United Kingdom, or business that evades them.
• Financial crime: money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, identity theft, unauthorised or fictitious transactions, or structuring payments to avoid limits or reporting.
• Payments for others: accepting payments on behalf of another business, reselling or sharing your account, or acting as a payment facilitator, money transmitter, currency exchange or stored value service.
• Unregulated financial services: unlicensed lending, investment, securities, debt collection or credit repair; virtual currency exchanges, wallets or token sales without the required licences.
• Gambling of any kind without a licence valid where the customer is located and our prior written approval.
• Adult content and services: pornography, sexual services or content involving non-consenting persons, and any content sexualising minors.
• Dangerous and controlled goods: weapons, ammunition and explosives; illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia; prescription drugs or controlled substances without the required licences; hazardous materials.
• Infringing and counterfeit goods: counterfeit or replica products, pirated media or software, and anything that infringes intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights.
• Deceptive practices: pyramid or Ponzi schemes, get-rich-quick offers, fake reviews or followers, misleading free trials, and selling without intending to deliver.
• Harmful content: content that promotes violence, hatred, terrorism or self-harm; human trafficking or exploitation.

Businesses that need approval

The following need our approval, and that of our Payment Partners, before you take live payments for them. Approval may require licences, additional information or payment limits:

• digital goods, virtual items and in-game currency;
• online games and game services;
• subscriptions and recurring billing;
• travel, ticketing and pre-sales with delivery more than 30 days after payment;
• dating and social discovery;
• nutritional supplements, cosmetics with health claims and medical devices;
• telecommunications, VPN and proxy services;
• charities and political organisations.

Individual merchants (registered as natural persons rather than businesses) cannot sell digital goods or games at all.

Using the platform

You may not:

• probe, attack, overload or reverse-engineer the Services, or bypass authentication, rate limits, IP allowlists or risk controls;
• share, publish or resell API keys, or let an unrelated party use your account;
• forge webhooks, manipulate order states, or exploit errors to obtain refunds or funds;
• send card numbers or other payment credentials through order descriptions, metadata, webhooks or support channels;
• use the sandbox to process real payments or test stolen card data.

Your obligations

Disclose clearly what you sell, its price, delivery time and your refund, cancellation and subscription terms; show your business name and contact details on your website; keep evidence of delivery; answer customer complaints and disputes promptly; and give us information about your business when we ask for it.

What we may do

If we suspect a breach of this policy, we may ask for information, refuse or cancel payments, limit API access, suspend live payments or payouts, ask our Payment Partners to act on your account, close your account and report to the authorities where the law requires.

Reporting abuse

To report a merchant using KukoPay in breach of this policy, email [email protected] with the order or receipt number, the date and what happened. Do not send card numbers.