After what appeared to be an act of self-sabotage by banning sexually explicit content on its website, OnlyFans’ founder has finally added some clarity to the situation, announcing that the pornography ban was the result of “unfair” treatment by banks.
After the adult content subscription platform announced it will be banning sexually explicit conduct come October, the move was immediately hailed as a bad business decision, which would ultimately alienate its 2 million-plus content creators and more than 130 million users. However, OnlyFans’ founder Tim Stokely recently revealed to the Financial Times that the ban was the result of unfair treatment by the website’s banks, which refused its business over alleged reputational risk.
“The change in policy, we had no choice— the short answer is banks,” Stokely said. “We pay over one million creators over $300 million every month, and making sure that these funds get to creators involves using the banking sector.” he explained, adding that the Bank of New York Mellon “flagged and rejected” all wire connections to OnlyFans, thus making it challenging to pay creators.
“This decision was made to safeguard their funds and subscriptions from increasingly unfair actions by banks and media companies— we obviously do not want to lose our most loyal creators,” Stokely said, rejecting claims that the move was made as a result of weary investors. “We didn’t make this policy change to make it easier to find investors,” he argued, saying that the company would not bring on lenders that weren’t comfortable with adult entertainment.
Stokely also referred to another previous incident, where in 2019 UK-based Metro Bank shut down OnlyFans’ corporate account without providing adequate notice, resulting in the site’s numerous content creators not getting paid. “JPMorgan Chase is particularly aggressive in closing accounts of sex workers or… any business that supports sex workers,” he also added.
A number of financial institutions, including Mastercard, have begun distancing themselves from the porn industry, and have imposed more stringent rules for “specialty merchants.” The updated rules are slated to take effect come October 1, which is coincidentally the same day that OnlyFans’ updated policy on sexually explicit content begins to be enforced. Although speculation that Mastercard was behind the website’s new rules began to circulate, Stokely disagreed. “We’re already fully compliant with the new Mastercard rules, so that had no bearing on the decision.”
The adult content website’s new policy changes were also met with scepticism, particularly as to how the company would enforce the ban. According to Stokely, OnlyFans in the midst of hiring nearly 200 new moderators, which will join a team of almost 1,000 staff whom are “involved in some part of our multi-step moderation process.”
Information for this briefing was found via the Financial Times. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
