US whistleblower says Mastercard, Visa failed to stop payments for child sex abuse material on OnlyFans

Mastercard and Visa knowingly allowed their payment networks to process revenue from child sexual abuse material and sex trafficking on OnlyFans, a whistleblower alleged in a complaint filed with the U.S. Treasury's financial crimes unit.

The January 2023 complaint, accuses the payment giants of turning a blind eye to illicit transactions despite being alerted by federal agents and anti-trafficking experts in 2021 and 2022.

The whistleblower, a senior compliance expert in the banking industry, alleged the card companies “willfully failed” to uphold anti-money laundering programs required by law.

He said they facilitated payments for illegal content, directly handling proceeds of child sexual abuse material on the platform.

“This was preventable,” the whistleblower said. “They had the power to turn off the switch but didn’t.”

The U.S. Justice and Homeland Security departments, along with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), were also named in the complaint. FinCEN confirmed receipt of the filing but declined to comment further.

Mastercard and Visa denied the allegations, stating they were unaware of the complaint until Reuters contacted them. Both companies cited robust compliance measures to deter illegal activity.

“We hold all users of our system to high standards,” a Mastercard spokesperson said, adding that law enforcement had provided no evidence of illegal activity. Visa emphasized that non-compliant merchants are removed from its network.

Growing allegations against OnlyFans

OnlyFans, a subscription-based platform, has faced mounting scrutiny over claims of hosting illicit content.

A 2022 study by the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII), cited in the whistleblower complaint, identified numerous accounts with signs of child sexual abuse or trafficking.

The ATII report and a separate investigation shared with Mastercard and Visa detailed alarming findings, including accounts featuring underage victims. Both payment companies declined to comment on the report.

Mastercard executives reportedly met with anti-trafficking experts in late 2021 after explicit material involving minors was accessed during a call.

Mastercard said it requested financial institutions linked to OnlyFans to confirm compliance with its standards.

Payments under fire

The complaint underscores OnlyFans’ reliance on payment processors like Mastercard and Visa to handle its $6.6 billion in annual payouts. Critics argue this makes the card companies complicit in illegal activity when violations occur.

In 2020, both companies suspended services to Pornhub following similar allegations. Stricter rules for adult content sites were introduced in 2021, requiring platforms like OnlyFans to verify users’ identities and flag illegal material.

Despite these measures, the whistleblower argued that Mastercard and Visa maintained “business as usual” while placing responsibility for compliance on banks.

OnlyFans did not respond to inquiries but has previously stated a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal content. It claims to cooperate with law enforcement to report and remove violations.

Calls for accountability

The whistleblower urged FinCEN and other agencies to hold the payment networks accountable for enabling the monetization of illicit material.

“Turning a blind eye to these transactions is unacceptable,” he said. “They’re profiting off exploitation.”

It remains unclear whether authorities have acted on the complaint. Under FinCEN’s whistleblower program, investigations are confidential, and whistleblowers’ identities are protected.