Last week, OnlyFans confirmed plans to ban all sexually explicit content from its website starting October 1, 2021. The site, one of Lockdown’s biggest success stories, gave no reason for its decision, which many believed was designed to help attract outside investors who were believed to be squeamish about the nudity on the platform .
In an interview with the Financial Times yesterday, however, OnlyFans inventor Tim Stokely blamed banks for the decision.
Stokely, who serves as the company’s CEO, announced that OnlyFans is paying around $ 300 million a month to one million creators. To do so, it has to rely on the banking sector to process its payments, but three banks have caused problems for OnlyFans.
According to Stokely, the Bank of New York Mellon has allegedly flagged and declined every payment the company tried. Metro Bank in the UK is also reported to have closed OnlyFans’ corporate account in 2019, while JP Morgan Chase has been described as “particularly aggressive in closing accounts for sex workers or”[…]Any company that supports sex workers, “revealed the CEO of OnlyFans. Although there has been speculation that OnlyFans violated Mastercard’s rules, the website’s creator denies it.
“We are already fully compliant with the new Mastercard rules, so that had no influence on the decision,” he added.
Following its decision to drop all planned changes for October 1st, OnlyFans announced that it has “secured the commitments necessary to support our diverse community of creators.” It adds, “OnlyFans is inclusive and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.”
OnlyFans is designed so that anyone from celebrities to ordinary people can charge whatever fee they want to view their photos and videos. Although not originally designed for sexually explicit content, it quickly became notorious as a “porn app” thanks to the large number of sex workers who rushed to the platform to block sexually explicit content on other sites like Patreon and Tumblr.
OnlyFans’ success, largely based on the large number of people selling photos and videos of their bodies, resulted in a valuation of up to $ 1 billion.
After the initial announcement, hundreds of OnlyFans users shared their dismay at the move which could have caused a huge loss of income for many who turned to the site after losing their jobs during the pandemic. A YouTuber wrote on Twitter: “I’m really upset about the news from onlyfans and don’t know where my income will come from now, as funding someone with a thousand projects and just being able to just eat and buy the bare minimums – that is horrific. “
Another told the New York Times, “People won’t be able to make ends meet. People will lose the roof over their heads. “
Lilli Sabine told Buzzfeed News that she makes between $ 100 and $ 1,200 every month with OnlyFans. “If I can’t move my fan base to another platform quickly …” It can be very difficult to convert followers to new platforms, and I have to build everything from scratch when OnlyFans throws sex workers and lewd creators off the platform. “
Model and Love island Star Megan Barton Hanson also spoke out against the decision, saying OnlyFans was “empowering” for many former glamor models. she the BBC said, “For years women have been used in music videos, or the sexy person in a James Bond movie, or worked for large corporations that make porn. This is a way for a woman at home struggling with the pandemic to evict her. ”Own content at her own prices and earn a taxable income.
“Now we’re being punished for it, so it’s really sad and a shame that the banks don’t want to accept money from women or men who are just consenting adults who want to publish these media outlets. It’s strange.”
Other high profile users of the site include rapper Cardi B, Kate Moss’ younger sister Lotte Moss and actress Bella Thorne.
Despite the decision to abolish the new policy, OnlyFans’ content creators have to make a difficult decision. A number of users had started the tedious process of moving fans to a new platform like Fansly, AdmireMe and Pocketstars.
Should these platforms be abandoned in favor of the status quo, or did the first announcement by OnlyFans break enough trust that the creators want to start moving elsewhere?
For many, the OnlyFans announcement last week felt like it was sold out by a partner – and one who has made millions in profits from your partnership. That’s not a feeling that stars of the platform will easily shake.
Omi, an adult content creator who said she lost more than 500 followers and $ 4,000 in income on the platform in the past week, told BuzzFeed News that she wasn’t sure she was using the Website should continue. She said, “The dilemma is that I built a thriving five-figure business and made over half a million fan bases on this website only to lose it overnight.”
