The internet has allowed all kinds of niche and adult-oriented businesses to thrive in recent years. But many of these operations run into roadblocks when trying to set up payment processing and take credit cards from their customers. Adult and quasi-adult merchants are considered high risk by banks and credit card companies, who worry about potential liability with chargebacks or fraud.
So who exactly needs an adult merchant account these days? As it turns out, there are a surprising number of mainstream and semi-mainstream businesses that sell adult products, provide adult services, or have certain types of adult content as part of their offerings. Many of them have trouble securing standard payment processing and getting approved for mainstream merchant accounts.
An adult merchant account is essentially a specialized type of high-risk merchant account provided by banks or payment processors that specialize in serving industries like pornography, sex toys, webcam sites, and more. These merchant accounts allow businesses to accept credit cards and other forms of online payments while being transparent about the adult nature of the products or services being sold.
In this article, we’ll look at the types of businesses, both mainstream and niche, that require an adult merchant account for their operations.
Content Platforms
The internet has enabled content creators of all kinds to monetize their work directly. And much of that creator economy centers around adult-oriented content. Platforms like OnlyFans, FanCentro, and JustForFans cater specifically to sellers of pornographic and other kinds of adult content.
To enable fans to sign up for creator subscriptions and pay for custom videos or other products, these platforms must work with payment processors that allow adult transactions. Since its launch in 2016, OnlyFans has paid out over $20 billion to creators across a platform boasting approximately 305 million registered users and 4.12 million creators as of the end of 2023. They handle these large transaction volumes thanks to partnerships with specialized adult merchant account providers.
Other content platforms without exclusively adult offerings also need to consider adult merchant accounts if there is a substantial amount of erotic or pornographic content being sold by their creators. Patreon, for example, has over 270,000 active creators across all types of content verticals. But their terms of service do prohibit pornography and other obscene content. For creators that ignore this policy, Patreon runs the risk of losing access to mainstream payment processors and merchant services.
According to Exploding Topics, the creator economy will be worth over $127 billion globally by 2030. And adult content remains one of the most lucrative verticals. As existing and emerging content platforms grow, robust adult merchant accounts will be key to supporting this huge market opportunity.
Toy and Lingerie Stores
Physical and online retailers that specialize in sex toys, lingerie, and other adult products often struggle to get standard merchant processing accounts. Many are forced to label themselves as “novelty stores” rather than sex toy shops in order to increase their chances of approval.
But given the intimate and adult nature of their products, these stores are still considered high risk by traditional banks and credit card processors. Specialized adult merchant accounts allow sex toy shops and lingerie boutiques to describe their actual business models without fear of chargebacks or canceled accounts.
In the U.S. alone, the sex toy industry is worth over $10 billion as of 2024. And globally, the lingerie market is projected to grow to near $62.7 billion by 2030. Major brands like ASOS, Savage X Fenty, and Honey Birdette need reliable payment systems to handle these massive sales volumes. That’s why we’re seeing more and more intimate apparel brands turn to offshore banks and adult merchant processors.
These specialized accounts allow intimate apparel retailers to freely use explicit terminology in their marketing without restrictions. And the underwriting criteria focuses more on sales volumes and average order values rather than the adult nature of the products being sold.
Webcam Sites
Live streaming and webcam sites for explicit performances have been growing exponentially along with rising consumer bandwidth and mobile device capabilities. In 2025, the cam site industry is set to be worth over $9.5 billion globally, with the U.S. and Europe being dominant markets.
The best sites are Chaturbate, StripChat, BongaCams, and MyFreeCams, where amateur talent can stream shows and sell access to premium content. Such sites have thousands of models online at any one time, working for an audience that could be in the millions.
In order to turn this enormous need into income, cam sites depend on specialized adult merchant accounts. These accounts permit high-ticket credit card transactions by the customers as well as the convenience and safety of making quick payments. The performers also require quick withdrawals and stable payment processing to receive their income.
Because of concerns of reputation risk and not knowing what exactly might come to be streamed, standard merchant processors do not want anything to do with webcam sites. Offshore banks and special adult processors are however more flexible and experienced in handling such types of businesses.
Subscription Services
A wide range of mainstream corporations and online brands currently depend on subscriptions for a major (or even dominant) share of their revenues. From SaaS companies like Zoom, Shopify, and Dropbox to content platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, recurring subscription payments have become the norm for monetizing digital goods and services.
Adult sites offering subscription access to content libraries, cam site tokens, custom videos, and other exclusives also leverage this business model. The most popular sites and studios may have millions of subscribers and earn more than $1 billion in subscription fees in the United States alone.
High availability and elastic subscription management depend upon merchant services and payment processing partners that appreciate this business model. The mainstream processors do not go to sites that have adult subscriptions because of unclear policies against obscene material. That is why adult sites need to work with niche adult merchant account providers that understand this market and know how to handle volumes of global subscriptions.
The adult industry is served by offshore banks and credit card processors in places such as the Netherlands, the UK, Cyprus, and Mauritius. They provide good rates, increase processing limits, quick payments to creators, and clarity on the nature of transactions. The services enable huge adult subscription websites to get the best out of revenues in a mainstream sort of way using dedicated adult merchant accounts.
Other Industries
There are a few other mainstream and semi-mainstream industries that commonly leverage adult merchant accounts for all or part of their operations. These include:
- Ecommerce marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, and Amazon allow independent sellers to list adult products, requiring specialized merchant services to handle transactions.
- Online pharmacies and supplement stores sell treatments for sexual health and wellness – which mainstream processors may deem too risky or explicit.
- Virtual reality businesses that provide adult content on headset devices require recurrent billing of access charges.
- Hookup applications and adult dating websites rely on secure payment processing of subscription costs or pay-per-use items.
- Merchant services are needed in gentlemen’s clubs, strip clubs and legal brothels to process credit card services and tips.
- Phone sex hotlines and sexting services need to enable credit card payments for per-minute usage fees.
The variety of mainstream and niche companies leveraging adult merchant accounts illustrates just how vital this specialized financial infrastructure has become. Without these services, huge swaths of the internet and technology-enabled economies would lose access to critical online payment functionality.
Challenges of Getting an Adult Merchant Account
While an adult merchant account provides the payment processing and credit card acceptance services these businesses need, they can still be challenging to actually get approved for.
Most entrepreneurs in the business sectors, whether individual creators or the owners of adult mega-sites, get burned out after repeated account closures and service cancellations. The old banks and mainstream processors just do not want the compliance headaches and risk of doing business with adult merchants.
So those serious about getting an adult merchant account need to understand the key requirements and restrictions in order to secure a lasting solution.
Here are some of the main hurdles faced by adult businesses during the merchant account application process:
- High processing fees and deposit holds due to higher perceived risk.
- Limited payment options beyond credit cards—no ACH, checks, or wire transfers.
- Restrictions on marketing copy and terminology used on websites.
- Lengthy underwriting and compliance reviews delaying approvals.
- Fears of arbitrary account termination or canceled services.
- Lack of customer service and support for resolving issues.
These kinds of limitations present major headaches for individuals and companies dependent on reliable payment solutions. But the highly profitable nature of most adult businesses makes dealing with the hassle worthwhile to keep sales volumes flowing.
Best Practices for Applying for an Adult Merchant Account
To the determined lot, these are some of the best practices that will apply in the quest to achieve the best success in adult merchant accounts.
Here are the top tips for adult businesses submitting merchant account applications:
- Be completely transparent about the adult nature of products and services being sold—this avoids violations of terms down the road.
- Highlight marketing and business processes showing commitment to compliance—this satisfies risk requirements.
- Provide all required business formation documents, including corporate paperwork.
- Submit a solid business plan focused on marketing and operations.
- Provide as much visibility as possible on sales volumes and average order values.
- Keep business-like sites without the no-no content in the background.
- Establish special customer service facilities to deal with subscriber problems.
- Implement fraud protection, authentication requirements, and compliance tools.
- Follow all guidelines related to restricted products, services, or content types.
The keys are being transparent, projecting an image of professionalism, and demonstrating internal controls for risk management. Adult merchant account providers need to know applicants take compliance seriously and are committed to sustaining long-term growth.
Conclusion
Specialized adult merchant accounts fill a critical gap for a wide variety of mainstream and niche companies operating in technology-enabled industries today. Without these services, huge segments of e-commerce and the digital economy would essentially be cut off from business-critical payment processing and credit card acceptance.
Whether sole proprietor producers or multi-billion-dollar adult mega-sites, these merchants rely on banks and processors who are prepared to assume the perceived risks and compliance demands of adult transactions. With the help of offshore and specialized providers, these merchants can access the huge growth potential of different adult verticals.
And although there may be restrictions, the approval standards are based on transparency, sales history, and risk mitigation measures instead of the consideration of the nature of products sold. The reputable adult industry businesses find the inconvenience of obtaining a well-underwritten adult merchant account worth the benefits in the long run.
