This article was published on August 25, 2021

OnlyFans founder now blames banks for its porn ban (Updated)

Stokely says banks have been "unfair"


OnlyFans founder now blames banks for its porn ban (Updated)

Update 25/08/2021 7.30 PM IST: The platform has decided to not ban porn for now.

After banning porn on its platforms last week, OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely has publically blamed banks for this decision. 

According to a report from the Financial Times, Stokely said “unfair” treatment is the reason for the porn ban, “The change in policy, we had no choice — the short answer is banks.”

The founder gave examples of banks making it difficult for the company to pay its creators. He said that the Bank of New York Mellon “flagged and rejected” every wire transfer to the company. 

Stokely pointed out that JP Morgan Chase is aggressive “in closing accounts of sex workers or . . . any business that supports sex workers.” He also recalled that in 2019,  UK-based Metro Bank, closed out the company’s account, making it difficult for the firm to pay creators.

That’s why Stokely and co. decided to ban the very content that put OnlyFans on the map. However, after a major public backlash, the company recognized sex workers’ contribution to the platform’s success earlier this week and said it’s working on “solutions” for them.

A BBC investigation published last week pointed out that OnlyFans has been ‘lenient’ about illegal sexual content on the platform, and the company needs to deal with it in a better manner. Stokely retorted by saying that the platform has been unfairly targeted by media reports, and how other social media platforms face similar issues.

A report published by Axios earlier this month noted that OnlyFans has had difficulty in raising money despite tremendous user growth because of venture capitalists staying away from sexual content.

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