6+ Best Adult Payment Processors & Merchants Accounts For Your Adult Site

The adult entertainment industry has expanded rapidly over the last few years in terms of sales volume and traffic. Building a porn site has become one of the most profitable ventures that anyone can start today. With the rise of the digital age, sales and transactions are taking place online, making it compulsory for adult business owners to get an adult merchant account for their business.

Any adult website that deals in online sales and transactions needs an adult payment processor to handle the finances smoothly on the website. Now the thing is that there are many payment processors available, but not all of them allow adult transactions on their processors. In fact, there are only a few adult content payment processors that will allow adult websites to partner with them. In this article, we will help you find out the top adult merchant accounts available and which is the best payment processor for adult sites.

Why is getting an adult payment processor tricky?

Even though there are so many payment processors available in the world, then what is the reason that adult sites find it hard to get a suitable adult payment processor for their website? Well, the reason is the “high-risk” tag associated with the adult industry.

You see, starting a porn business is considered a high-risk business due to multiple reasons like reputational risk, high chargeback rates, heavy regulatory compliance requirements, high fraud risk, privacy concerns, and company policies of not associating with adult businesses. These are the reasons that an adult business owner has to tackle while in the search for an adult payment processor.

Although there are many different categories in the adult industry, the general conception is that all adult businesses are high-risk, making it difficult for them to find an adult payment processor and merchant account. Here are a few categories of the adult industry for which you’ll need an adult payment processor to handle transactions on your website.

• Adult webcam sites
• Adult content platforms
• Adult streaming sites
• Sex toy marketplace site
• Adult membership sites
• Adult tube sites
• Phone sex operator sites
• Sex chat sites
• Adult escort sites
• Adult dating sites
• Adult gaming sites

Best adult payment processor & merchant account for an adult site

An adult merchant account is a special business bank account that every adult business needs to start its business. A normal person cannot apply for a merchant account; you need to have a registered adult company to be able to apply for an adult merchant account.

Adult payment processors are what handle the transactions on your adult website. The transfer of money from the user account to the business account is handled by the adult payment processors. Adult merchant accounts and payment processors together form the backbone of online payment processing in the adult industry. Now let’s take a look at the best adult payment processor and merchant account for an adult site.

1. CCBill

CCBill is a global financial technology that serves merchants spread over 197 countries. It specializes in high-risk businesses like the adult industry by providing features such as fraud protection, content compliance, data protection, personal privacy, and consumer trust. There are a number of challenges faced by adult businesses; CCBill tries to reduce one pain point for them by smooth management of payments for any adult business.

Be it any type of adult business you start, adult webcam streaming like Chaturbate, or a content selling platform like OnlyFans, CCBill covers your business in every aspect.

CCBill features

• Active risk mitigation
• Flexible website compliance support
• Proactive regulatory management
• One-click legal cross sales
• Cancellation discounts
• Malicious and fraud protection
• Instant billing and password support
• Discrete display of purchases

Pros of CCBill

• Excellent for adult businesses
• Flat pricing
• Multi-currency support
• No fee for early termination
• Best for international businesses
• No monthly fee

Cons of CCBill

• Rates for processing payments are high
• Minimum of 6 month hold on payouts upon the termination of account
• Rolling reserve needed

2. Verotel

Another internet payment service provider that specializes in high-risk businesses, Verotel is a leading adult payment processor that has enabled more than 50000 webmasters to build their high-risk businesses. Formed in 1998, Verotel is a seasoned adult merchant account provider which provides multiple payment options at competitive rates to its users. With support for a wide range of currencies, Verotel fits the bill as an international adult payment processor.

Recently in 2021, Verotel started a partnership with Bitsafe that helps automate the platform’s payout flow and provides detailed payout reporting, which helps merchants easily track payments. Here are some more worthy features of Verotel.

Verotel features

• High-risk merchants accepted
• Multi-currency support
• Powered by Bitsafe
• Easy to use Verotel center dashboard
• Specialized cardholder support
• Profitable affiliate program
• High security and privacy policies

Pros of Verotel

• Daily payouts
• No minimum processing requirement
• No setup fee
• Public pricing available
• No monthly fee
• No early termination fees

Cons of Verotel

• Pricing is a bit high
• Not all terms are disclosed
• Merchant processors need to set up a reserve fund for future chargebacks.
• Services marketed through a channel partnership
• Customer service isn’t so great

3. Host Merchant Services

Host Merchant Services, or HMS, is a great merchant services provider for low-risk businesses, but they also are good with high-risk businesses like the adult industry. It offers a range of payment processing services for merchants like eCommerce, virtual terminal, mobile payments, SaaS payments, Netsuite payments, free payment processing, gift and loyalty programs, merchant cash advance, and more.

The one thing that stands out for HMS is its transparency. Before you sign a contract with them, they’ll make sure that you understand all the terms and conditions and know about the fees associated with the services they provide. There is no hidden fee or behind-the-scenes deductions; everything is put out on the table. Here are some more features of HMS that make it a worthy adult payment processor.

Host Merchant Services features

• Supports high-risk businesses
• Wide range of POS systems
• Lifetime rates
• Free EMV compliant mobile swiper or terminal with a merchant account
• No term commitment
• $100,000 insurance for any data breach
• Choice of adult payment gateways

Pros of Host Merchant Services

• Excellent customer support
• Transparent pricing
• Tailored business solutions
• No early termination fees
• Interchange-plus pricing
• Easy-to-use website

Cons of Host Merchant Services

• Only for US customers
• Expensive for low-volume merchants
• Pricing not disclosed for high-risk businesses

4. Durango Merchant Services

Another specialist for high-risk businesses, Durango Merchant Services, is a popular choice as an porn payment processor due to various reasons. It provides services for both high-risk and low-risk businesses, and the rates vary according to business category and the duration of your contract. Durango provides services like credit card processing, Durango eCommerce gateway, chargeback and fraud protection, check processing, and cryptocurrency processing.

Durango Merchant Services works with a lot of domestic banks and also provides safe offshore accounts for merchants who operate internationally. With multiple payment options for merchants and a dedicated account manager for each merchant, Durango is one of the leading adult payment processors for high-risk businesses. Let’s take a look at some of the prominent features of Durango Merchant Services.

Durango Merchant Services features

• High-risk business specialist
• International merchant accounts
• Durango payment gateway
• Shopping cart integration
• Fraud protection
• Cryptocurrency processing
• Chargeback solutions

Pros of Durango Merchant Services

• Fast onboarding with quick approvals
• Fair pricing
• Offshore accounts
• No early termination fee in most cases
• Dedicated account managers
• Free consultation
• Built-in fraud reduction tools

Cons of Durango Merchant Services

• eCommerce gateways come as an add on
• Usually requires long term contracts
• No pricing disclosure on the website
• Lacks age-verification tools

5. PaymentCloud

Payment Cloud is one of the most popular adult payment processors for adult and high-risk businesses. Getting an adult webcam merchant account on Payment Cloud is an easy and straightforward process for both eCommerce and retail businesses. The services and products of Payment Cloud include POS systems, credit card processing, cryptocurrency processing, virtual terminals, EMV compatible terminals, and  merchant cash advance.

Payment Cloud has partnered with many banks to maximize the chances of approval for your high-risk business. It’s a trusted name in the porn payment processor world which helps in getting a stable merchant account for your business. They cover almost every business type in the adult industry, like selling sex toys, cam streaming, phone sex operator, fetish websites, and more. Here are a few features that make Payment Cloud a great option as an adult payment processor.

PaymentCloud features

• Specializes in high-risk businesses
• Virtual terminals
• eCheck and ACH processing
• Multiple POS systems
• Integrated web hosting
• Free credit card terminal with each merchant account
• Multiple payment gateways
• The fee varies for high-risk businesses depending on the processor used

Pros of PaymentCloud

• No account setup fee
• Good customer support
• Reasonable prices
• No monthly minimum for low-risk businesses
• Free credit card terminal
• Hardware variety
• Shopping cart integrations

Cons of PaymentCloud

• Lack of transparency
• Long-term contract needed
• Long approval times
• No escort services support

6. eMerchant Broker

A well known name in the high-risk business industry, eMerchant Broker is an American company that provides credit card processing services for high-risk businesses like the adult industry. This adult payment processor has a high approval rate and offers a range of products and services like merchant accounts, check processing, online payment gateways, and cryptocurrency payments.

eMerchant Broker even provides offshore merchant accounts for escort service businesses that are legally operating in other countries. Each merchant gets custom pricing on eMerchant Broker, which helps both big and small businesses. With a range of high-risk industries under its coverage, eMerchant Broker is one of the best payment processors for adult sites. Here are some more features of eMerchant Broker that make it a strong contender for adult merchant accounts.

eMerchant Broker features

• Expert in high-risk businesses
• Credit card and ACH processing
• Multiple payment gateways
• Chargeback prevention tools
• Fast approvals for legal businesses

Pros of eMerchant Broker

• Wide range of services and integrations
• Supports difficult high-risk merchants too
• Accepts CBD merchants
• High approval rates
• No setup fee
• No annual fee
• Chargeback protection

Cons of eMerchant Broker

• Prices are comparatively higher
• Misleading sales pitches
• High early termination fees

Some other popular adult payment processors

• Pay Kings
• Instabill
• National Processing
• High Risk Pay

Which is the best payment processor for adult sites?

Choosing an adult payment processor can be a tricky job. First of all, most of the payment gateways don’t approve adult businesses which makes it difficult to find an adult merchant account for your business. Secondly, the terms and conditions of adult-friendly payment processors can be tricky and misleading.

After our research and comparing various adult content payment processors, we have come to the conclusion that CCBill and Verotel are the most trusted and feature-rich adult payment processors. Although all the processors mentioned earlier are good, these 2 are priced reasonably and also are transparent, making them our favorite choices for the best payment processor for creating an adult site.

Conclusion

So, with that, we come to the end of our article. High-risk businesses find it difficult to get an adult content payment processor for their business due to various reasons. With the threat of fraud always looming over the adult industry, finding a trusted adult payment processor becomes very important.

The above mentioned adult payment processors help you with an adult merchant account using which you can seamlessly manage transactions on your adult website. If you need help in building an adult product, then check out Adent.io which provides multiple easy-to-use whitelabel softwares to start your own adult business, We hope we have answered your questions and cleared your doubts regarding adult merchant accounts and adult payment processors in this article. Do write back in case of any queries.