Cash or credit?

[+ Steve yabsley]

I haven’t been able to find a B of A that dispenses anything but 20s.

Maybe I live in a high cost of living area?? ?

[Quincy_7]

I only use cash in this hobby. Any sort of e-payment would leave a paper trail.

[Quincy_7]

I only use cash in this hobby. Any sort of e-payment would leave a paper trail.

[Bargara Leatherboy]

The only things I use for cash these days, is the social club at work which has a table full of bad things to eat, like chocolates, sweets, (candy) chips etc, the Vietnamese bread shop which only takes cash, and the provider who prefers cash.

 

For everything else I use American Express, or Visa/MasterCard for all those wonderful Frequent Flyer points. I dream about the time I can travel again and have a huge bank of points to use.

 

I used to take out $400 cash every fortnight, and these days I still withdraw $400 when I go to an ATM but my visits to an ATM are few and far between.

 

I have got in the habit of having enough to for my next appointment with a provider tucked away, as I always seemed to be pushing time to get to an ATM on my way to an appointment.

 

I don’t have any issues with a paper trail, as sex work is legal in Australia

[Bootybuilder]

I believe payments should always be in cash unless otherwise noted. Its a huge pet peeve of mine if someone asks to pay electronically after the appointment. I never ask prior, but feel I need to put a disclaimer in my ad to avoid more electronic payment as its becoming more prevalent. I couldn't believe it last month when a client paid me in paypal and then hes like "you're reallly first name - last name I've seen your facebook". LOL not a way to build rapport. I also had a client realize I knew his brother after paying me on paypal and he freaked out.

 

CASH IS KING!

[Bargara Leatherboy]

I believe payments should always be in cash unless otherwise noted. Its a huge pet peeve of mine if someone asks to pay electronically after the appointment. I never ask prior, but feel I need to put a disclaimer in my ad to avoid more electronic payment as its becoming more prevalent. I couldn't believe it last month when a client paid me in paypal and then hes like "you're reallly first name - last name I've seen your facebook". LOL not a way to build rapport. I also had a client realize I knew his brother after paying me on paypal and he freaked out.

 

CASH IS KING!

 

I always ask how they provider prefers payment when setting up the meet

[+ WilliamM]

If they are an LMT, they are probabaly reporting some of their income. A lot of porn stars probably get 1099'd for the porn studio work they do and don't have a choice but I can imagine someone escorting reporting their income, it would be like a drug dealer reporting their income.

Some escort agencies gave the escorts 1099 forms as well, when agencies existed.

[italianboyph]

I was reading another post about paying up front and didn’t want to hijack that post so I’ll ask it here. There was a lot of talk about leaving the money in an envelope out in the open. I’ve never paid cash for service, only cc or app based payment. So my question is, are there really that many paying cash or is it more electronic these days?

 

It depends... I don’t mind cash and I don’t mind any of the cash apps, venmo, Zelle. Sometimes with cash though I don’t like carrying a bunch around and when it comes to putting it in my account I’m always cautious now.

[HoleTrainer]

ALL payment apps consider accepting payment for sex work to be against their TOS and will reverse transactions after service has been delivered, sometimes pulling money out of a sex worker's personal bank account (even when it has already been spent, resulting in a negative balance) to cover the refund. There is nothing a sex worker can do to stop a client from helping himself to a full refund weeks or months after service has been delivered. In addition to this, any sex worker whose work is discovered by these payment apps will be permanently banned for life from ever using the payment app again. A payment that is fully reversible to the client at his request, made thru an institution that explicitly forbids us to use it for our line of work, is incredibly risky and not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

Cash. Postal money orders or cash between the pages of a magazine in the mail. Bitcoin. All fully anonymous (protecting both client & escort's privacy) and 100% irreversible transactions.

[Beancounter]

ALL payment apps consider accepting payment for sex work to be against their TOS and will reverse transactions after service has been delivered, sometimes pulling money out of a sex worker's personal bank account (even when it has already been spent, resulting in a negative balance) to cover the refund. There is nothing a sex worker can do to stop a client from helping himself to a full refund weeks or months after service has been delivered. In addition to this, any sex worker whose work is discovered by these payment apps will be permanently banned for life from ever using the payment app again. A payment that is fully reversible to the client at his request, made thru an institution that explicitly forbids us to use it for our line of work, is incredibly risky and not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

Cash. Postal money orders or cash between the pages of a magazine in the mail. Bitcoin. All fully anonymous (protecting both client & escort's privacy) and 100% irreversible transactions.

I wonder if members of Congress are aware that they can request a refund from sex workers if they paid by Venmo. Might be worth a shot to recoup $900. ?

[DamianQuantas]

I would say that in my case 95% of the time is cash, so yes mostly everyone goes for cash.

[Guest]

There is nothing a sex worker can do to stop a client from helping himself to a full refund weeks or months after service has been delivered.

 

what's the first rule of fight club???

[Tod Parker]

I had to chime in on this even though its a little off topic and funny.

 

When my ex-boyfriend/bodybuilder was stripping at a club in Houston, he had some guy in the audience slide his credit card through Derrick's ass crack. It was so funny and the guys in the clubs had such a good time. I remember that photo floating around the internet for at least three years.

 

But back to topic now.

[HoleTrainer]

what's the first rule of fight club???

 

In my world it's cash only for service and warn others about the risks inherent in anti-sex payment processors. If other people want to plug their ears and pretend this isn't the reality, that's up to you. Lot of clients seem to feel that payment apps should be the standard now and that is not okay.

[BonVivant]

Unless u r vying for electoral office or a political appointment, no one will care. Plus gifts are legitimate.

[mike carey]

I was chatting about this with an escort I was seeing a few days ago. He has worked here and in the UK and has had a couple of issues with clients reversing Paypal payments (not with Paypal itself), which he said he was able to resolve. He now won't see clients who want to use it, although he will use bank payment methods. He didn't actually say whether he prefers them or cash.

[Jamie21]

I take credit cards, or PayPal. Never had a problem. I mostly do sensual massage and it crosses over into escort work or probably better described as sex work in general. I’ve not had any issues with clients reversing payments but then I don’t take bookings from the type of client who might be prone to do that (although who can tell?).

If someone fails to pay or reverses the payment without good reason then certain things would happen: they’d never be allowed to book again, I’d share their details with other escorts/masseurs so they are warned (we have ways of doing that..) and in extreme cases the police are involved. Escorting is legal here so no problem to inform the police of clients who do a runner.

I view taking cards as legitimising the work. There’s nothing wrong about doing sex work so why should it be pushed to the margins by being cash only. If card merchants want to pretend they’re being ethical they can stop people paying for gambling sites, alcohol and tobacco with their credit card too can’t they?

[Guest SilverDollar]

Cash only. Period.

[HoleTrainer]

I take credit cards, or PayPal. Never had a problem. I mostly do sensual massage and it crosses over into escort work or probably better described as sex work in general. I’ve not had any issues with clients reversing payments but then I don’t take bookings from the type of client who might be prone to do that (although who can tell?).

 

So basically, you've gotten lucky so far. You haven't had this problem YET. And I hope you never do. But I see escorts crying literally every week about having their transactions reversed, apps frozen, and balances confiscated by private payment app companies (who are not banks and have no legal obligation to return your money). But since you admit we can never tell which type of client might do this, it's not that this couldn't happen to you based on your operating procedure but that it just thankfully HASN'T. And I'm happy for you about that.

 

FYI, if you are in the US, the police will not do a damn thing to help you if you go to them about something like this. Accepting payment for escort services is against the TOS of every credit card and every payment app in existence. These payment apps and cc processors have every right to reverse the transactions and keep your money, and you agreed to this when you signed up for their service and checked that little "I accept the TOS" box.

 

I am not saying I disagree with you that there is nothing wrong with being paid for sex and that we SHOULD be free to use these services. But everyone needs to be aware of the risks involved under the current financial system. Clients need to understand that when we turn these payment methods down, it is simply because they are NOT safe for us, and not because we are trying to be difficult or be a bad sport.

 

It sounds like you are OK with the risk that someone might reverse a payment someday or that an app like Paypal might freeze your balance indefinitely and ban you for life, or reach into your bank account and take money back from a transaction months down the line someday. If you have enough financial stability in your life and view the finances in a detached enough way to chalk this up to an operating expense rather than feeling like someone violated your consent by stealing the money back, then I totally support your choice to do so. You have every right to choose to accept the risk.

[rustyrex]

I can totally understand why some providers are averse to credit or apps, however, cash is not perfect either....

 

Not all cash is real.

 

I’ve seen a couple people literally get pulled to the side and have the cops called on them once the pen gets run across the bills. They literally have to call the cops and detain you. You are arrested and taken in for forgery. If you are found to have fraudulent money you answer to the federal government and your name goes into a national database.

 

The other risk.....I’ve heard one guy get beaten with a chair and have the cash stolen. Once it’s gone....it’s gone...with a few broken bones. I’ve heard of a guy who had a gun pulled on him right after the appointment, all of his cash was taken.

 

Some guys will tell me, “you’ll see a charge from my business on your card, for a soap shop.” I was foolish enough to ask what kind of soap he made. He grinned and said anything you want. Told me all sales are final, then gave me a wink and slapped my ass on my way out the door.

[Guest]

So basically, you've gotten lucky so far.

 

A healthy dose of skepticism is always welcome, and I know you've been at this longer than I have, in a country more hostile to sex work than England (where I believe @Jamie21 works) or Canada (where I do.) Yet I would dare say it's a little uncharitable to assume it's only a matter of luck. How many years does it have to work for before it's not luck any more?

 

I'm not here to criticize any provider's decision not to take card, or any client's decision not to use it. And I'm in solidarity with you against the particularly nasty legal situation in the US. But if it can be a viable option for even a few escorts and clients, why would that not a be a step forward?

 

 

Also, this might seem pedantic, but I think it's worth clarifying that there's a difference between taking a payment by payment app, and taking a direct payment by credit card. The payment apps that are commonly used by individuals sending money to other individuals have different arbitration processes than the "terminal" style of card reading platforms that are meant for businesses (including the self-employed).

[HoleTrainer]

A healthy dose of skepticism is always welcome, and I know you've been at this longer than I have, in a country more hostile to sex work than England (where I believe @Jamie21 works) or Canada (where I do.) Yet I would dare say it's a little uncharitable to assume it's only a matter of luck. How many years does it have to work for before it's not luck any more?

 

I'm not here to criticize any provider's decision not to take card, or any client's decision not to use it. And I'm in solidarity with you against the particularly nasty legal situation in the US. But if it can be a viable option for even a few escorts and clients, why would that not a be a step forward?

 

 

Also, this might seem pedantic, but I think it's worth clarifying that there's a difference between taking a payment by payment app, and taking a direct payment by credit card. The payment apps that are commonly used by individuals sending money to other individuals have different arbitration processes than the "terminal" style of card reading platforms that are meant for businesses (including the self-employed).

 

I've been at this for 10 years and I know a lot of escorts who have no problems for many years until suddenly they have a proble, and it's extremely upsetting to them and causes them significant inconvenience or worse. So in my experience it is just luck even if you go many years without a problem. But I am definitely speaking from a US perspective here. Things may certainly be different in Canada and the UK. I definitely have no experience with working in either country. Pretty sure Paypal has the same terms of service everywhere tho. But I could be wrong about that too.

 

I also definitely know that there is a difference between taking payments by payment apps and credit cards in terms of the logistics. People in this thread have been discussing both tho, and in the US at least, and for US-based financial companies, in both cases it is against the TOS to use all of these products to accept payment for any adult services.

 

It is absolutely a step forward if escorts can accept these payments safely and securely. But if not, then it is a step backward, from a secure and reliable payment method to one that subjects the escort to ongoing risk even after the appointment has concluded successfully. The problem definitely isn't individuals who choose to accept it- that's anyone's right of course. The problem is if clients come to expect that this should be an option and don't understand that they're demanding something from an escort that puts our finances at risk.

 

It totally makes sense that we have very different perspectives on financial systems coming from completely different countries. I hadn't thought of that in my earlier posts and I should have. Americans often make the mistake of assuming the entire internet is talking about America and I guess I made that mistake here. Sorry!

[FrancisCA]

Had a client use digital payment apps for the first time and told him to not make the "notes" so obvious when sending money so he put he spent $300 on sushi.

 

I mean go off but cash is best!

[Jamie21]

Yes I’m aware of the risks. My preferred payment method is cash, and I always state that. However I find that many clients prefer to pay by card, so I offer that option. Or direct transfer from their bank to mine which is certainly very easy here if they use internet banking. The money is transferred instantly and I can see it on my phone.

 

I don’t keep a large balance on my PayPal just in case I have an issue with them. My main complaint with PayPal is their rubbish customer service. I took a card payment using their card reader one time and the thing crashed so the client put their card in the reader again and this time it worked ok and payment was taken. Later in the day my client messaged to say he’d been charged twice, yet on my account I only had one payment credit. I refunded my client one payment to put him square (he’s a regular, he was fine about it) but then I was out of pocket and my money was somewhere between PayPal and my client’s credit card company. It took ages to resolve with PayPal because of having to deal with their annoying Bot customer service chat and then misinformation from humans when you eventually get to speak to someone.

You don’t get that kind of problem with cash!!

 

I told my client that next time he shouldn’t stick it in twice....and I said I’m talking about his card in my card reader not his cock in my hole...there’s no limits on how many times it goes in there ?

[HoleTrainer]

I don’t keep a large balance on my PayPal just in case I have an issue with them.

 

In the US at least, Paypal can pull money out of your linked bank account to cover any refunds they decide to issue against your account, even if you do not have an active balance in your Paypal account. To be extra safe, some people have a separate bank account that is only used to receive funds from Paypal, which they then transfer elsewhere, so in case Paypal ever decided to pull funds from their linked bank account, there would be nothing there to pull. You might ultimately still end up owing the bank money under those circumstances, but for people who can't afford to risk losing a chunk of their rent money out of their checking account, for example, this can be an extra additional layer of protection that helps them feel ok with this risk. Not sure if it's the same in the UK but just FYI.

 

And yeah I agree, their customer service in general is really hit or miss, and can often be quite terrible.