As an adult website, one of the most significant issues that many face is finding payment processors that are adult-friendly.
Because adult sites face high-risk factors, including increased fraud and chargeback risk, and ever-tightening legal standards and compliance requirements, payment processors are often wary of them.
Because of this, staying on top of your compliance allows you to manage your payments without hassle. In this article, Adult Site Broker breaks down some of the most significant issues affecting adult website compliance and the best ways to mitigate risk and stay on top of your compliance for your chosen payment processor as an adult website.
Payment Processors and the Adult Industry
Although the adult industry is growing and becoming popular as a business venture, from a financial and investment opportunity, it is still stuck in the world of censorship and conservative values.
Because of their higher risk of fraudulent payments, chargebacks, takedown notices, and copyright issues, adult websites are often considered high-risk investments that many choose to avoid.
When it comes to banks and their stakeholders, this has also been shown to be the case, with adult websites and porn stars alike reporting on their bank accounts being frozen or closed down due to the nature of how they earn their money.
Payment processing is limited for adult websites, which often must comply with strict rules or risk losing access to their processor and revenue.
Understanding the regulations an adult website must follow and how to comply can help it in the long run.
What Affects Your Adult Website Compliance?
Rules Surrounding Age Verification and Consent of Models
One of the main factors affecting adult websites is their adherence to rules and regulations on copyright, privacy, age verification, and consent.
Although age verification is usually discussed among users, adult sites that upload content made by pornstars, cam models, or regular content creators also need to prove that their content is made by models and creators over the age of 18 and that they have consented to the uploading of the content to their site.
Fraud and Chargebacks
One of the most significant risks for an adult website is the number of fraudulent transactions and customer chargebacks. To curb this behavior, Many processors and banks have significantly reduced the thresholds for chargebacks and decline-to-sales ratios they will tolerate.
Submitting Transparency Reports
Adult websites must submit a monthly transparency report showcasing their business’s activities. This can include takedown notices, bans, and complaints. Failure to do so can result in an investigation and a fine.
Takedown Notices
Takedown requests are common for adult websites, especially those that upload adult content, like tube sites. As an adult website, you must comply and quickly remove any content deemed to violate copyright, privacy, and the law.
How Your Adult Website Handles Complaints
Adult websites may be overwhelmed when handling complaints and refunds if they receive too many at once. As a one-person business, getting through them swiftly can be unheard of. However, failure to do so and to log them correctly in your transparency reports can result in a noncompliance assessment of your adult site and lead to consequences, including fines or a blocked account.
How To Stay Compliant As an Adult Website
To stay compliant as an adult website, when it comes to the factors that can affect your compliance that we mentioned above, some of the ways you can help yourself to stay compliant and avoid any unnecessary penalties or fines include:
Showcasing your Adherence to Age Verification and Consent
You can do this by having model release forms and consent forms for any performers on your adult site (especially if you have porn stars, cam girls, and content creators on them), and be ready to show them to your processors.
Updating Complaints Policy
Showcase that you have a set policy of dealing with complaints swiftly (within seven days) and that you quickly handle any needed refunds.
You should also resolve complaints promptly by reviewing and removing flagged content, and each complaint should be logged in your transparency report.
Takedown Notices
As an adult website, to comply with your payment processor and any banks, you need to promptly comply with any takedown notice you receive and cooperate with any investigation if a complaint is made to MasterCard or Visa.
Submit Transparency Reports on Time
You should send your transparency reports on time each month, including all necessary details such as takedown requests, complaints received, law enforcement interactions, legal requests, and any member/model bans.
Work With Experts
You can use expert help to ensure compliance, including financial and legal advisors and the tools provided by the payment processors you work with.
Through Adult Business Consulting, you can receive advice and support on compliance matters, helping you make the right choices to stay on track. However, working with certified legal and financial advisors for legal and economic issues is also essential.
Utilize Your Merchant Account Toolkits
You can also use the toolkits on your payment processors’ merchant accounts. These will help you comply with payment verification standards and use tools to reduce ratios, fraudulent behavior, and chargebacks by providing instant refunds through dispute resolution services.
Conclusion
By ensuring your adult website complies with the latest regulations, rules, and standards of your chosen payment processor, you can ensure smooth payments. This allows you to focus on your website’s day-to-day running without worrying about losing revenue or unhappy customers.
By following the rules of your payment processor and its sponsoring banks, you can avoid long-term issues for yourself and your adult website, such as a hefty fine of $250,000 for non-compliance.
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