The credit card processor will phase out its adult clientele within an unspecified period of time, a representative for First Data told XBiz. However, Cardservice spokesperson Samantha Smith has been quoted as saying that the phase-out will happen within the next six to eight weeks.
Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data is an electronic commerce and payment services company and the sole owner of Cardservice International, which it launched in 1988. Both companies serve a diverse base of online and offline industries.
"We don't believe there is enough benefit from the adult entertainment business for our shareholders and employees in the long run," a First Data spokesperson told XBiz when asked why the company had decided to terminate its adult accounts.
"We're talking about the total value of being in the business," the spokesperson added, referring to online adult, although she would not elaborate on what "total value" meant in terms of adult contracts.
The spokesperson told XBiz that neither Cardservice International nor First Data have made any formal announcements to the adult industry, and she would not say when they planned to inform current clients that their accounts would be cancelled.
Cardservice International processes more than $12 billion in annual credit card volume and more than 125 million transactions annually in 140 languages, the company said.
"We have some really high standards that we adhere to as a business and we feel that processing for the [adult] industry is not consistent with our standards," the spokesperson concluded.
