Last updated: June 4, 2024

Nium reserves the right to decline services to any jurisdiction, organization, or individual whose activities are illegal, prohibited by Nium, or may cause Nium reputational, regulatory, financial or operational harm. This includes restricting where/who Nium clients can send money to, from, or on behalf of.

This page provides information on the types of businesses, products, and industries that are prohibited or restricted for use as part of Nium’s services. To use Nium’s services, you must remain compliant with these rules and restrictions.

The lists of jurisdictions, persons, businesses, and activities described on this page are representative but not exhaustive and subject to change.

High Risk Jurisdictions and Persons

Use of Nium’s services for any dealings, engagement, or sale of goods/services directly or indirectly with the following are prohibited:

• Jurisdictions Nium has deemed high risk, including but not limited to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
• Persons Nium has deemed high risk, including but not limited to those individuals or entities named to a restricted person or party list of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, or United Nations, including the sanctions lists maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
• Organizations, business, or individuals or associated with terrorism and crimes, including financial and environmental crimes and activities
• Foreign governments, embassies, and consulates

Prohibited Businesses

You must not use Nium’s products or services for the following activities or in the following manner:

• in any way that breaches any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation, or causes Nium to breach any applicable law or regulation;
• in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
• for any violence-related activities, including the creation, facilitation, sale, or distribution of any material that promotes violence or hatred, including for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
• for any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material, or any other form of spam;
• to deal in harmful programs such as viruses, spyware, or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware;
• in any way that would locally or internationally evade any applicable taxes or facilitate tax evasion

Regulated or illegal products and services

• Adult entertainment and content, including but not limited to, pornography and other visual content depicting explicitly sexual acts, services of sexual nature (webcam shows, live chats, prostitution, escorts, etc.), sexually-oriented establishments (massage parlors, strip clubs, gentleman’s clubs), adult live chats, sexually motivated dating services, and pornographic pay per view services
• Drugs, drug paraphernalia, controlled substances; or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, such as raw material, chemicals, psychoactive products, and addictive substances
• Human organs and remains
• Nuclear chemicals or materials, poisonous, radioactive, or hazardous chemicals, highly toxic pesticides, flammable or explosive chemicals.
• Gambling, foreign casinos, internet gambling, lotteries, fantasy sports, games of chance
• Weapons, including but not limited to, firearms, simulation weapons, ammunitions and explosives, and military or semi-military goods, military software, or technologies, including dual-use goods, or fireworks and firecrackers, explosives and explosive devices.
• Trade of restricted and/or endangered animal species and products derived from them
• Pyramid schemes

Products and services that infringe intellectual property right

• Any products or services that directly infringe or facilitate infringement upon the trademark, patent, copyright, trade secrets, proprietary or privacy rights of any third party
• Counterfeit goods, illegally imported or exported products

Financial and other professional services 

• Investment & credit services, securities broker, mortgage consulting or debt reduction or collection services, credit counselling or repair, real estate investments 
• Lending, including lending instruments, crowdfunding, or fundraising activities
• Trading and exchange and wealth management, including investment, stocks, securities, spot, and futures services
• Using the Nium account as an escrow or safeguarding account

Technology and network

• Businesses that provide hacking related services or sell hacking related software, malware, software services which jeopardize companies or its related party.
• Spy equipment and weapons, including hidden cameras, GPS trackers, listening and encrypted communication devices
• Decryption and descrambler products and services, devices designed to block, jam or interfere with cellular and personal communications

Restricted Businesses

You must not use Nium’s products or services for the following activities, unless you have received prior written approval from Nium. Due to card network rules, requirements of financial partners, and our own compliance and legal obligations, if your business falls into one of the categories below, Nium may not be able to approve your business’s use of our products or services.

• Alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco, e-cigarettes, cigars
• Marijuana-related businesses including medical marijuana, cannabis, and THC or CBD
• Medical and pharmaceutical, including medicines, drugs, equipment, prescription devices and medications
• Cryptocurrencies/digital assets, including store-value virtual currencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
• Precious metals and stones including raw materials, such as gold, jewels, gems, mining
• Oil and petroleum products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, fuel oil, and any other type of petrochemical or residual fuel
• Multi-level marketing services or commission-based sales
• Nonprofits and charities