Itch.io seeks payment processors who work with with adult material

You may argue that current payment processors do a poor job at b) but they do an infinitely better job than crypto since it's a division by zero situation.

But they wouldn't do that, they would moderate the content on their own site.

Mastercard never talked to Steam directly. That means all the discussion about Mastercard (from Steams point of view) is practically hearsay.

Meanwhile, we have itch.io being VERY clear here that it's Stripe that has a no-porn policy. That gives us a DIRECT cause. And Stripe ALSO admits that they don't allow porn on their payment network.

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Has Steam even said who their payment processor is yet?

I guess we'll find out really quick if itch finds another processor.

The payment processing system is so complex and opaque even people in the industry rarely understand anything outside their little corner of it.

People are going to be angry at the most visible parts of the ecosystem.

Itch is clearly making the effort and I suspect they will come through with a new processor ultimately. They surely have enough business that processors that handle adult industry will most certainly negotiate beyond their typical rates. Especially considering the nature of the bulk of their business isn't directly adult oriented.

https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2025/...

> Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations.

This seems like a rather strong refutation of the discussion.

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> If the crux of the issue is that everyone has arranged a system where nobody has to take responsibility for anything, none of what you’ve said absolves Mastercard (or Visa) of any guilt.

Stripe has literally been saying no porn on their network since the freaking start of this controversy with Itch.io.

Did Stripe even HAVE a call center for the internet mob to protest at?

It's hard for us to learn new tricks. The hope is in the next generation to figure this out...

[1]: https://www.directdebit.co.uk/

SEPA flows typically have a more rough UX, maybe this would put off a lot of customers?

They could also just piggy back off of SEPA and just do the bog standard thing of asking the customer to transfer x amount of money with the reference abcxyz. If the customer then uses instant transfer in their banking app, they get to immediately confirm the purchase.

In case of Steam they could totally also just give immediate access and then revoke it if the payment doesn't happen within 36 hours.

But yes, reputation is also critical. Amongst many other things.

Problem is, different classes of goods and/or services have very different rates. Like, if you sell grocery it is 1%, if you sell computer games it is 2.5% and if your sell adult content it is 5% if you can see physical card (you are magazine stall with adult magazines) and 7% if you don't see card (on-line sell). Numbers are totally made up by me here, BTW, but principle is the same.

You see, Visa and MC are credit card system, so if transaction was done by stolen card (and probability of that event depends on the goods sold and type of point of sale) and it was charged back by proper card owner, it is Visa/MC who pays for troubles.

It is what why proper transaction coding is so enforced.

Many (a lot) of transactions are with effectively debit cards (overdraft limit is set to 0.0 by issuer bank), but technically any Visa (not Electron) and MC (not Maesto) card is credit one.

On the other hand, I didn't hear about successful charge backs for many years. Like, 20 years ago it was trivial with good European bank (one phone call, zero paper work — I seen this several times in person!), and now it is much harder.

And one more question: why do we need payment processors at all?! I don't need it to pay with my card, why do I need to accept payments? Why banks don't want to be payment processors directly for their clients? Why do we need these MitM?

Apologies if that's what it sounds like. It's not. While ensuring you use the right code is part of it, it's also making sure that the bank/payment provider is also aware of what you are transacting. What code should you use for adult games? Don't ask someone online. You should talk to your bank/payment provider and make sure they understand what you are doing on that account and how it will properly be coded.

It's not just the code, but also the account and your relationship with the provider.

Keep in mind that often there are several categories something can fit into, and it's important to work with your provider to have a clear understanding of what they allow and are willing to process.

My mental model is "what is the least friction to get value from fiat stores to uncensored value transfer rails" on this topic.

https://www.coinbase.com/blog/Coinbase-and-JPMorgan-Chase-jo...

> Beginning this fall, you’ll be able to use Chase credit cards to fund your Coinbase account. Beginning in 2026, you’ll be able to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to fund your Coinbase account. For the first time, points from a major credit card rewards program will be redeemable for crypto rewards. Beginning in 2026, you’ll be able to directly link your Chase account to Coinbase. Chase customers will be able to seamlessly link their bank accounts to Coinbase for another fast, easy way to buy crypto - in addition to all of our existing integrations.

(As of 2023, Chase had 18.5 million checking accounts. In 2024, Chase opened nearly 2 million net new checking accounts. In July 2025, it was reported that JPMorgan Chase holds the largest total deposits among US banks, totaling over $2T; not a JPMC fan by any means, but they are the Goliath of commercial banks as it stands)

Billing is broadly part of merchant services and is largely done by the sales organization that sold the processing.

Of course there are companies that encompass all these and more like the acquiring bank.

If you came to this by looking at epoch's website, click the tab from "Billing" to "Merchant Solutions". The rest very clearly state they are a processor.

Or in this case: itch.io switches to CCpay instead of Stripe as mentioned in the article. Because Stripe was actually the problem here, not Visa/Mastercard.

I still will highlight the closure of Manga Library Z (which Visa/Mastercard is to blame). But this itch.io problem was different.

Also, that 3% doesn't go to just Visa/MC and the other card brands.

It goes to the payment gateway, the payment processor, at least one level of sales organization, the merchant bank, and the POS company in the case of in person business. There are several intermediaries that get a slice of the pie.