Banking for OFM agencies: debanking, payment accounts and payouts

The money in this business moves through accounts that can be closed for what the business is, not for what it did. This chapter puts the published facts on debanking in one place, describes what an account built for the sector actually sells, and ends with the questions to ask before moving a payroll onto one.

8.1What the regulator wrote

The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority looked at account closures twice. Its September 2023 report found no evidence of accounts closed for political views, and plenty of closures for reputational or financial crime reasons^[2]. The September 2024 update went further on sectors: firms' financial crime risk tolerances led to some business sectors, adult entertainment among them, being treated as higher risk or designated ineligible for a payment account^[1].

The same update quotes industry representatives on what happens next. Refused a business account, workers fall back on cash or on a personal account, and a personal account reveals a person's real name to clients, "therefore exposing them to blackmail"^[1]. Some firms told the regulator they needed to recalibrate their controls to stop excluding compliant adult businesses. The document sets out expectations; it does not create a right to an account.

8.2What the sector reports

The only sizeable survey is the one the Free Speech Coalition ran with SexWorkCEO between December 2022 and March 2023, with more than 600 adult industry respondents, most of them in the United States. Sixty-three percent had lost a bank account or a payment tool such as PayPal, Venmo or Cash App because of their work, 36 percent in the twelve months before the survey. Half named financial discrimination as the single biggest issue they face, and 64 percent said they had no other significant source of income^[3]. The figures are self-reported and the sample is not a random one; there is no better dataset in the public domain.

8.3An account built for the sector: what it sells

On 28 September 2026, Vaultus, a London company founded in 2024 by four people who describe their own experience of debanking, launched a payment account for adult businesses in the UK and the EU^[5][6]. It is useful here as a worked example of the category, not as a recommendation: this handbook has not opened an account.

First, the legal shape. Vaultus is not a bank. Its regulated services are provided in partnership with Equals Money Plc, an FCA-authorised payment institution, reference 488396, with EU funds held through Equals Money Europe in Belgium^[4][7]. Client money is safeguarded in designated accounts at other banks, kept separate from the company's own funds, and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The pricing page states this in its own words.

Second, the prices, read on 29 September 2026^[4]. A Personal account costs 5 pounds or 6 euros a month with no opening fee. Business tiers cost 25/30 (Bronze), 35/40 (Silver) and 45/50 (Gold) pounds or euros a month, each with a one-off opening fee of 50 pounds or 59 euros refunded if the account cannot be opened; Platinum is priced case by case. Foreign exchange margins go from 2.5 percent on Personal and Bronze to 2 percent on Gold. Virtual cards are free; a physical card costs 10 pounds or 12 euros.

Third, the agency features, as stated in the release rather than on the pricing page^[5]: multicurrency accounts holding up to 35 currencies, the figure the company gave on 2 October^[8], payments over Faster Payments, SEPA and SWIFT, bulk payments on business tiers so that a roster of creators is paid in a single batch, forward contracts to fix an exchange rate ahead of time, and Xero and SAP integration on Gold and Platinum. Chapter 2 showed that an agency's cost is mostly a monthly list of transfers to creators; the bulk payout is the function aimed at that list.

8.4Before moving a payroll: the checklist

Whatever the provider, the same questions apply. Who holds the licence, under which reference, and can you find it on the regulator's register^[7]. Where client money sits and under which protection, compensation scheme or safeguarding. Which inbound sources are accepted: platform payouts arrive from the platform's own payment entity, and some providers restrict by sender. What a bulk payout costs per line, in which currencies, and how long a creator waits to receive it. What the FX margin is on the currencies you actually pay in. And what the notice period is if the provider ends the relationship, in writing.

Two habits follow from the texts. Describe the business activity accurately at onboarding: the FCA texts and the co-founder's own account both describe closures that followed the provider's review of what the account was used for. And keep a second rail live, even a small one, so that a closure delays a payout rather than stopping it.

8.5What the company answered (2 October 2026)

The desk sent Vaultus five written questions on 29 September 2026. The answers, signed by co-founder Cameron and relayed by Lydia Coulter, arrived by email on 2 October^[8]. What follows is the company's account, not a test by this handbook.

Onboarding. An agency applies through the sign-up form, declares itself a management agency and picks "Adult Content Creation and Management Services" in the industry list. Consideration can take up to ten days, the company says, because it treats the sector as high risk. The standard documents: supplier invoices and contracts, proof of company formation and structure, the last three months of bank statements, proof of address, a tax ID where applicable, client contracts and invoices, and identity verification, with follow-up requests possible. Anything illegal is refused. The answers give no refusal rate.

Who is accepted. At 2 October 2026, not agencies registered in the United States, mainland China or sanctioned countries; a US expansion is planned "in the next 2 years", with no date.

Inbound money. At the same date, no restriction on payouts from subscription platforms, the company states, naming OnlyFans, Fansly, Telegram Stars via Fragment, MYM, Fanvue, ManyVids and LoyalFans. This answers the first question this chapter left open on 29 September.

Paying a roster. According to Vaultus, accounts hold up to 35 currencies and pay out in more than 60, excluding sanctioned countries, over Faster Payments, SEPA, SWIFT or CHAPS. No stated limits on inflows or outflows: the applicant declares expected monthly inflows and yearly outflows, which become the baseline for flagging unusual activity. A creator receives an ordinary transfer to a bank account or to an e-money wallet with an IBAN. No time to receipt is promised.

Debanking, first hand. The co-founder describes banks asking for invoices and recipient details on cross-border transfers to creators, then closing the account "as we believe the account activity goes against our Terms and Conditions"; some providers closed without asking once a recipient creator carried a flag. One platform he does not name held $5,000 for six months and released it in two payments.

Safeguarding versus FSCS. The company draws the line this chapter drew in its FAQ, with one update worth keeping: the FSCS deposit limit has been 120,000 pounds per eligible depositor per authorised firm since 1 December 2025^[9]. Vaultus says e-money institutions cannot lend client money and describes its own arrangement as full safeguarding in separate accounts at other banks, through Equals Money; the FCA's rules also allow an insurance or guarantee route^[10]. The FCA's safeguarding rules in force since 7 May 2026 require reconciliation on each reconciliation day, monthly reporting, an annual independent audit and a plan to return client money^[10]. The company states the trade-off itself: if an e-money firm fails, funds are returned through an administrator, which can take longer than an FSCS payout and may carry administration costs. The legal notice names Vaultus Limited, Companies House number 17225774, and Equals Money International Limited, FCA reference 900493, as card issuer.

8.6What this chapter still does not know

The refusal rate, which the answers do not give; the real time to an operational account, since the company's "up to 10 days" covers the review of the application, not the opening; the identity of the platform that held $5,000; and how the account behaves in use, since this handbook has not opened one. The 8.4 checklist stands as the way to find out.