One of the issues for independent digital creators (so-called Indie creators) is that of where and with whom to host and sell digital adult content like eBooks, erotic artwork, comic books, or adult videos. The problem is that quite some storefront providers — such as Lemon Squeezy, Payhip, or Gumroad — don’t accept adult content, the latter also known as NSFW content i.e. Not Suitable For Work or Not Safe For Work content.
Now, the above is not entirely true, because they actually do, but the criteria for what they consider Not Safe For Work differ between one or the other. But there are exceptions, such as Lemon Squeezy, which is a digital storefront provider who doesn’t accept anything that even slightly hints towards sensual or sexual. Lemon Squeezy is really the puritan under the puritans (and, by the way, recently bought by Stripe).
Yet, to be fair, the actual problem is not the storefront provider but the payment processor(s) behind the storefront provider. Nowadays, the two payment processor market leaders are Stripe and Paypal. Unfortunately, they dominate and dictate the market. The thing is that payment processors don’t like handling adult content because the risk on so-called chargebacks (let’s say customers who ask for refunds) is statistically much higher for NSFW content than for “clean” non-sensual, non-sexual content.
The reason to the above is basically the “sensitive nature” of the materials bought. Many things may go on there: accidental purchases, embarrassment and feelings of shame, partner disapproval, or unauthorized use of people’s credit cards. Payment processors don’t like chargebacks because it costs them time and money.
So, the problem for content creators that publish sensitive content in the sexual sphere is that they need to find a combination of storefront provider and payment processor that accepts selling their digital publications. And that’s quite a big problem. There aren’t many, or you would need to go behind a subscription wall, such as Onlyfans, JustForFans, or Fansly, etc.
In fact, if you don’t want to go behind a subscription wall (which would usually be the case if you just sell sexually-oriented eBooks or comics, and so on), you would typically need to resort to storefront providers that act as full Merchant of Record providers (MoR), handle the payments for you, and take the risk of chargebacks (for which they have a deal with PayPal or Stripe and will pay extra for, or get away with it or allowed to do so because of their volumes of sales).
It means that in the case mentioned above (Mor), you wouldn’t connect your personal PayPal or Stripe account to your storefront provider interface but payments would be handled via the PayPal or Stripe accounts of your storefront provider. It also means you won’t receive payments of your products directly into your PayPal or Stripe account, but you would rather receive periodical payments from your storefront provider into your bank account, crypto wallet, check, or Payoneer, PayPal, or Stripe account, or into/at whatever way your storefront provider is able to pay you.
Having said that, mind that there are quite some payment processors that do accept selling adult content, such as SegPay, CC Bill, PayKings, Corepay, and many others, but they are often not available through regular storefront providers where you can sensibly and conveniently host and sell your digital files. Typically, adult content payment processors are rather there for services like call girls, escort services, BDSM services, sensual-erotic massage sessions, and so on, and not so much for selling adult videos, eBooks, or other digital adult content.
And in addition, most adult content payment processors are only available to work with in “first-tier” Western countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Europe, and so on, and not in “development countries” like India, Brazil, etc. It basically means, you’re quite f*cked, if you don’t belong to the so-called “first world.”
Another workaround to still be able to sell your sexually-oriented digital products would be that you are very careful of how you title you products on regular storefront providers and what kind of descriptions you give them in a sense that they sound neutral or less sexual. This might work, but it’s certainly not a guarantee. If you have a chargeback or a decline because of someone using a stolen credit card you quickly will get scrutinized by a Stripe or Paypal and then it will very much depend on the “explicitness” of your content and the type of sexual content (for pleasure, gratification, or education, for instance) if you will get blocked or not.
All by all, it’s a tough world out there for those who sell digital content with an adult or perhaps even pornographic touch. I feel it will get only harder in time, moreover because countries, states, or provinces in our time and age increasingly puritanize and put bans on websites. It means, you might end up in a situation where your site is banned in Texas but available in California. Well, how about that? It’s a crazy world out there.
