OnlyFans reverses contentious porn ban

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OnlyFans has reversed its contentious decision to ban sexually explicit content after founder Tim Stokely’s criticism of “unfair” treatment by banks sparked new conversations with financial institutions.

The company announced on Wednesday that it had “secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and [had] suspended the planned October 1 policy change”.

The sudden U-turn came after Stokely on Tuesday told the Financial Times that the ban on porn had come in response to increased resistance from banks, which would “cite reputational risk and refuse our business”.

OnlyFans executives reversed course on Wednesday morning, one person close to the company said, after Stokely’s comments prompted “larger financial institutions” to come to the table. “They are now willing to talk,” the person said.

Stokely had told the FT he would “absolutely” backpedal on the ban were the banking environment to change, which has happened “much faster than anticipated” owing to the “wider pressure and criticism” of banks, the person added.

After announcing the policy change last week, OnlyFans faced criticism for shunning the adult performers who have helped attract its roughly 130m users. There were also doubts over whether it could prosper under rules that blocked its most prominent user base.

The platform, where sex workers, celebrities and influencers charge fans for pictures, videos and customised content, increased transactions 615 per cent to £1.7bn last year and had been expecting pre-tax profits of £300m this year.

For some time, the UK-based company has tried to attract more mainstream influencers and brands, but it has faced scepticism over whether it could pivot to non-porn creators while maintaining its growth rate.

OnlyFans’ rapid expansion has compounded its issues with banks, as the company claims to pay more than 1m creators in excess of $300m each month. This increasingly required large financial institutions to act as intermediary banks, helping with transfers between OnlyFans’ bank and the accounts of its creators.

“If you’re dealing with large sums you need big banks, and they’re the ones [who fear working with porn companies],” said one person close to the executives, adding that the company was now “better off [although] not every institution has come to the table”.

OnlyFans told the Financial Times it had in the past year lost three accounts with payment merchants, two because “very top management level” decided that collaboration was a “reputational risk”. It has also struggled to secure corporate accounts with banks in the UK, where the company is based.

Savannah Solo, an OnlyFans creator, said she would reluctantly stay with the platform but added: “I’ve learned my lesson, so I’m now diversifying with other websites.”

Solo did, however, recognise Stokely’s comments regarding banks’ discrimination of adult performers. “I’ve absolutely encountered problems from banks, if they get a whiff of you being a sex worker they’ll shut down your accounts.”

Further guidance on the decision would be communicated to the site’s almost 2m content creators, OnlyFans said.