VOD, subscriptions, creator platforms

A payment gateway for adult and creator platforms, built for clean recurring billing.

OpenGate is a payment gateway for adult sites and creator platforms that need an adult merchant account, recurring billing and creator payouts. The vertical carries the payment industry's most scrutinized combination: subscriptions on stored cards, anonymous users and chargebacks filed for privacy as much as for fraud. We underwrite the age gate, the descriptor and the billing flow, then place the file with acquirers that work this vertical deliberately.

Apply to start processing How it works

At a glance

Adult & Creator Platforms

Sector: Adult & dating
Payment methods: Cards (Visa/Mastercard) · Recurring and trial billing · Local payment methods
Documents in the file: 5
First answer: Within 1 business day

Why processors refuse

Why mainstream PSPs refuse adult and creator platforms

The refusals are not about morality. They are about scheme rules, chargeback velocity and the cost of diligence in a vertical where customers themselves want discretion. Adult content typically bills under MCC 5967, a category the card schemes register and monitor closely. These are the objections risk desks cite, and what OpenGate does with each.

High chargeback rates
Adult subscriptions generate disputes at rates that worry mainstream processors: charges the cardholder does not recognize, renewals they forgot, charges a partner spotted on a shared statement. Visa and Mastercard monitor dispute ratios per merchant, and adult volumes sit close to the line.
How OpenGate handles it
The account is structured around that reality: chargeback alerts so you refund before a dispute hardens, 3DS2 on signups, and ratio monitoring with warnings before any scheme program kicks in. The representment toolkit files evidence for the disputes worth fighting.
Age and identity verification
Acquirers must be able to show that only adults access the content and that creators are of age and verified. A platform that cannot document this exposes the acquirer to legal and scheme penalties, so banks decline rather than take the risk.
How OpenGate handles it
We list the verification documents and integrations the acquirers expect, and we check that they exist before submission. The age gate and creator verification remain your systems. What we do is verify the file, not build the gate.
Descriptor and billing complaints
A cardholder who sees an unrecognized name on the statement calls the bank. If the descriptor is too explicit, partners and family see it and disputes follow. Getting the descriptor right is a cardholder relationship problem, and processors treat mistakes as their own risk.
How OpenGate handles it
We work with the acquirer to set a discreet, compliant descriptor before go-live, and we check the billing flow the descriptor appears in. What the cardholder sees is decided and documented during onboarding, not discovered after complaints start.
Recurring billing complexity
Subscriptions and tips run on stored cards, and every failed rebill, trial conversion and price change is a dispute waiting for a reason. Mainstream processors build for retail carts, not for VOD renewals at scale.
How OpenGate handles it
Recurring billing is configured for the vertical: card-on-file mandates, trial-to-paid conversion tracking, retry logic and renewal notices. The underwriter reads the billing flow before activation and flags the points where disputes are born.
Content policy risk
Acquirers must confirm that the content itself is lawful. Card scheme rules for adult merchants, Mastercard's in particular, expect documented age and consent for everyone depicted, review of content before publication and a working complaint and takedown process. One scandal in the vertical makes banks re-review the adult files they already hold.
How OpenGate handles it
The file includes your content policy, consent and license records and your takedown process. We list what the acquirer expects and check it is there before the bank reviews the file. Where the file is incomplete, we say so before you spend time on submission.

The file

How we underwrite an adult merchant account

The file must prove three things: the users are adults, the creators are verified and the billing is transparent. The documents below cover each, and the underwriter checks them before any acquirer sees the file.

Age verification system

Description and evidence of the age gate on signup and before content access. Required at onboarding. The system is yours; we check that it meets what the acquirer expects.

Creator verification records

Identity and age checks for creators and performers, plus consent and license documentation for the content. Evaluated before activation.

Billing flow and descriptor

The subscription flow, trial terms, renewal notices, cancellation path and the statement descriptor the customer will see. Reviewed in underwriting before go-live.

Processing history

Three to six months of statements with chargeback and refund figures. New platforms send a clear model description and content policy instead.

Corporate identity

Registration documents, shareholder structure and identity documents for directors and UBOs. Adult ownership structures are verified closely by acquirers.

Payment methods

Payment methods for adult and creator platforms

The mix is built around subscriptions first, with rails for the markets where your audience lives.

See every capability

Cards (Visa/Mastercard)
Signups and rebills with 3DS2 authentication and card-on-file mandates. The core rail of an adult subscription platform.
Recurring and trial billing
Trial-to-paid conversion, dunning retries and renewal management configured for the vertical's dispute patterns.
Local payment methods
SEPA direct debit and iDEAL for European subscribers, in markets where issuers often decline adult card payments and bank rails are the familiar alternative.
Payouts
Scheduled payouts to creators, in the currencies their markets require, with split settlement where the platform takes a revenue share.

The process

The same four stages apply: file, analysis, offer, go-live, documented on /how-it-works. The billing flow and the age verification evidence are the parts of this file that decide placement, so describe both in the application at /apply.

See the 4-step process

FAQ

Adult payment processing FAQ

Can I use Stripe or PayPal for an adult platform?

No, or not for long. Stripe prohibits adult content. PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy puts adult digital content under pre-approval, and its help pages say sexually oriented digital goods may not be sold, so accounts close when the model becomes visible, often with funds held. OpenGate works with acquirers that accept the vertical deliberately. The review is free.

Why do adult platforms get so many chargebacks?

Privacy is a big part of it: cardholders dispute charges they do not want a partner or family member to see, even when the charge is valid. Failed renewals, trial conversions and vague descriptors add to the count. The account is structured around that reality from day one.

Will my customers see my company name on their statement?

The statement descriptor is decided with the acquirer before go-live and kept discreet within scheme rules. What the cardholder sees is documented during onboarding, and it stays consistent across renewals.

What documents do I need for an adult merchant account?

Evidence of your age verification system, creator verification and consent records, the billing flow and descriptor, three to six months of processing history and corporate identity documents. Send what you have; the underwriter lists the gaps within 1 business day.

How long does onboarding take for an adult platform?

As little as two weeks with a complete file. The delays in this vertical are almost always age verification evidence and billing flow documentation, which is why we list them before you start.

Will I have a rolling reserve?

Yes, and it will likely sit at the higher end of what you have seen in other verticals. The percentage and release schedule are written into the offer before you sign, and clean dispute history is the lever that reduces it.

Do I need to run age verification myself?

Yes. The age gate is your system and your legal obligation. We list what the acquirer expects to see and check it during underwriting, but we do not build or operate it.

Can I run trials that convert to paid subscriptions?

Yes, when the trial terms are explicit and the conversion is confirmed to the cardholder. Trials without clear conversion notices are a leading source of disputes in this vertical, so the flow is reviewed before activation.

My processor closed my adult account. Can you help?

Often, yes. Send the closure notice, your processing history and your billing flow. The underwriter checks whether the closure reason, or a MATCH listing, blocks a new placement and answers within 1 business day.

Can creators withdraw earnings in their own currency?

Payouts run on the schedule and in the currencies defined in the offer, with split settlement where the platform takes a share. The exact setup is agreed before you sign.

Related guides

Read all guides

How-to11 min read

How to Reduce Your Chargeback Ratio: The Full Prevention Playbook

The arithmetic of chargeback ratios, why Visa and Mastercard watch them, and the operational playbook that keeps your account below the line.

Chargebacks Explainer10 min read

3DS2 and SCA for High-Risk Merchants

What 3DS2 and Strong Customer Authentication actually do, how the liability shift works, which exemptions apply, and how high-risk merchants should route authentication.

Compliance & security Comparison11 min read

Offshore Merchant Account vs EU Acquiring: How to Choose

Licensed European acquirers and offshore jurisdictions both accept high-risk files. The differences that matter are licensing, cost, stability, settlement rails and how each fits your customer base.

Acquiring & banking

Related industries

All industries

Open your adult gate.

Send the file with your billing flow and age gate evidence. An underwriter reads it within 1 business day and replies with an offer, a document list, or an honest no.

Apply to start processing Talk to an underwriter

Free to apply. A human answer within 1 business day.

A payment gateway for adult and creator platforms, built for clean recurring billing.

Why mainstream PSPs refuse adult and creator platforms

High chargeback rates

Age and identity verification

Descriptor and billing complaints

Recurring billing complexity

Content policy risk