One of the greatest challenges faced by platforms offering online adult content today is the restrictions imposed by payment service providers, primarily Visa and Mastercard. While the internet is expected to allow free movement and business freedom, the reality is that adult websites suffer irreversible damage due to these widespread policies. Escort-Ads.com, as a platform providing services to independent, verified advertisers, experiences the severe negative impact of these regulations on a daily basis.
What exactly is happening?
Visa and Mastercard have decided to prohibit or heavily restrict payments for adult-themed websites. This means that when a customer attempts to pay for services on Escort-Ads.com (such as VIP listings), a significant portion of these transactions are automatically declined. This “declined transaction” practice effectively cripples our business operations.
The financial losses of Escort-Ads.com
Every month, hundreds or even thousands of payment attempts fail, despite customers wanting to pay and rightfully expecting access to our services. These declined payments represent a direct loss of revenue, but the problem goes deeper:
-
High fees: We pay tens of thousands of dollars annually for payment processing services, including platform management fees, annual Visa and Mastercard fees, and percentage-based deductions per transaction.
-
Per-transaction charges: Each transaction successful or declined incurs a fee of approximately 40 cents, so declined payments not only reduce income but also generate costs.
-
Interchange and scheme fees: Annual reconciliation fees, including interchange and scheme fees, add up to several hundred dollars, while revenue does not increase due to the high rate of declined transactions.
This cycle is making Escort-Ads.com’s operation increasingly unsustainable, as ongoing payment issues erode customer trust, cause attrition, and waste time and energy on repeated payment attempts.
Customer uncertainty and misunderstandings
Payment declines don’t just harm our platform they cause significant confusion and uncertainty for our customers. It is common for cardholders to see a “pending” transaction on their bank statement and believe the payment was successful. Only later do they realize the transaction was actually declined, meaning payment never occurred. This leads to serious misunderstandings, disappointment, and trust issues, as customers rightly expect their service to activate but experience the opposite.
This situation also places additional strain on our customer support, requiring considerable effort to clarify misunderstandings and help clients understand the true status of their payments.
A threat to the entire community
The damage extends beyond Escort-Ads.com. This practice disadvantages entire industries, making it nearly impossible to provide legitimate adult content and operate within a regulated market. These bans affect not only platforms but also advertisers, service providers, and ultimately consumers who have a right to safe and convenient access to adult entertainment.
What is the solution?
Escort-Ads.com is working to offer alternative payment options (such as cryptocurrencies) and raise public awareness of this issue. We believe that major payment networks need to rethink their policies and align their systems with genuine consumer needs.
How Visa and Mastercard Are Threatening the Future of Adult Platforms
Visa and Mastercard’s bans on payments for adult websites cause severe financial and operational harm to Escort-Ads.com and the entire industry. This situation is unsustainable not only from a business standpoint but also from a community perspective, requiring urgent dialogue among payment providers, regulators, and stakeholders.
The fight isn’t over. If you believe that payment processors should process payments, not police culture, then make your voice heard.
👉 Sign the petition here to tell Mastercard and Visa:
If you support the sustainable development of the adult industry and the expansion of fair payment options, please share this post! And if you are experiencing issues with card payments on our site, we encourage you to try our cryptocurrency payment option or contact us so we can offer you alternative payment methods.
