Questions CBD, cannabis & vape businesses ask us

Not PayPal, Stripe, Shopify Payments, Square, GoCardless or most high-street bank acquirers. Specialist high-risk acquirers and gateways — for example Viva Wallet, Trust Payments and Total Processing, among others — do consider UK CBD merchants, subject to underwriting (lab reports, Novel Foods status, clear product pages). We handle the application and the integration. Full detail in our UK CBD payment gateway guide.

Same story: the mainstream providers restrict e-cigarettes and e-liquids, while high-risk specialists will board compliant UK vape retailers and wholesalers. Age verification at checkout is usually a condition. See payment gateways.

Yes. Shopify permits the products, but Shopify Payments won’t process them, so you need a third-party gateway (and you’ll pay Shopify’s extra transaction fee). We set this up regularly — see Shopify for CBD & vape and the Shopify CBD guide.

Google Ads prohibits CBD products and vape/e-cigarette products in the UK. Meta (Facebook/Instagram) prohibits ingestible CBD and all vape products in ads, including boosted posts. TikTok, YouTube and Microsoft Ads follow suit. Attempting it usually gets the ad account suspended. Our CBD advertising guide and vape advertising guide explain what is allowed.

SEO, AEO (AI search), email and SMS, affiliate and influencer programmes, PR and content, marketplaces that permit the category, banner advertising on niche networks and publications, and — for shops — local search. It works; it just needs building rather than buying. See marketing.

Answer Engine Optimisation: making sure AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) understand and recommend your brand when someone asks “what’s the best CBD oil for sleep in the UK?” or “where can I buy 10ml nic salts?”. It matters a lot in categories where ads are banned, because those answers are increasingly where buying decisions start. See AEO.

CBD: yes, to opted-in subscribers, on a platform whose terms allow it (Mailchimp’s don’t; several others do). Vape: email marketing of nicotine vape products is restricted under the TRPR — we’ll advise what can and can’t go in a vape newsletter. See email marketing.

No medicinal claims (“treats anxiety”, “relieves pain”, “helps you sleep”), no implication that CBD is a medicine, and — for ingestibles — awareness of the FSA Novel Foods regime. You can describe the product, strength, ingredients, extraction, lab testing and how to use it. We write and review copy with this in mind.

The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 restrict nicotine strength (20mg/ml), tank and bottle sizes, packaging and labelling, and ban most advertising of nicotine e-cigarettes on online media. Your own website can carry factual product information. The disposable vape ban took effect in June 2025 and further restrictions are arriving through the Tobacco and Vapes legislation. See the vape advertising guide.

For vape: yes — sales to under-18s are illegal and “challenge 25” style checks at checkout are expected by acquirers and Trading Standards. For CBD it isn’t a legal requirement for most products, but many gateways and marketplaces ask for an age gate, and it improves trust. We integrate third-party age-verification services where required.

It depends on platform, catalogue size, integrations (gateway, age verification, subscriptions, wholesale) and content. We quote fixed prices after a short call, and our startup packages bundle the essentials for new brands. The free review is a good first step if you already have a site.

Typically 4–8 weeks for a Shopify or WooCommerce store, longer for custom builds or large catalogues. Payment gateway underwriting runs in parallel and can take 1–3 weeks, which is why we start it on day one.

Yes. Most clients move to a monthly plan covering SEO, AEO, content, email and campaign management after launch, with reporting that shows what is actually generating revenue.

Yes — UK hosting, backups, security updates and support from the same team that built it. See hosting & support.

Nottingham, and yes: we work with brands across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. See areas we cover.