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Comment by iamkonstantin | Hacker News Reader

Nice. This also means sex workers (which are a legal and protected profession here) will finally be able to use the full range of card services without being subjected to the prudish views of Visa/Master Card. Same for adult entertainment websites and generally any service that doesn't align with the "US man in charge mindset". I think that alone makes it worth it.

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Not just Visa/Master Card. Banks themselves have been known to deny business accounts to sex workers because of whatever reason they can think of, forcing them to use personal bank accounts that then get them banned because of "business use".

The 3000 euro limit will pose a problem for these businesses, though I suppose you could just take out half a dozen cards and rotate funds.

I think the friction really comes from their "partners" like MasterCard who are so averse to adult related services. Paying for adult entertainment is not tabu in most of Europe, being able to transact cashless... would be a very welcome improvement and even lift some of that business out of the grey zone.

Not really, in the Netherlands prostitution is legal but sexworkers have a hard time getting bank accounts.

The banks are wary of the connection to human trafficking and the obvious 99% cash transactions.

Because their card providers are Visa/MasterCard who are known to have these limitations. Having a way to operate without them in the loop will certainly lift such limitations

No it's mostly about anti-fraud and anti-money laundering obligations. It's a risk thing.

I don’t think so, banks would love for these transactions to move from cash to cards

The Dutch Labour Union for Sexworkers says otherwise. They've been complaining about this for years: https://www.nu.nl/economie/6356783/sekswerkers-krijgen-lasti...

Yes, it's a similar situation here in Belgium. Even though they've gained labour status and protections by law, some banks are still being difficult for various reasons including risk due to historical associations with criminal activities. I'm not saying all will be well... but a major obstacle (payment processors imposing their own views on the topic) will be removed.

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