TER General Board

LOL. Yep, I use my cashback card for everything...regular_smile
MasterZen 33 Reviews 298 reads
posted

but as a business owner myself... I can say that the "cashback" is paid by the merchant/small business who accepted your card. Visa and AMEX sure as hell don't pay it! That 2% plus fees can take 5% or more out of the business's pocket. Provider charges $1000, at end of day gets $950 less other expenses. Profits reduced. For me, a necessary evil and CODB - but if I could avoid it, I would!

MiaLopez911384 reads

My girlfriend has been using one for years but I am a bit apprehensive as a guy might cancel the transaction after or it would be like waving a flag to the IRS.

I'm sure that YOU and your friends report ALL of your income anyhow  LOL

I would be much more concerned about the bank(s) that you're using to process your transaction(s).  Plenty of articles that you can look up to see how (and whom) banks (and the related financial service entities) are looking into these types of transactions.

Have you gotten your refund yet?  According to the commercials...America needs to get their billions back ;)

Posted By: MiaLopez91
My girlfriend has been using one for years but I am a bit apprehensive as a guy might cancel the transaction after or it would be like waving a flag to the IRS.

It is just like using credit card terminal in a store or getting one for yourself to accept credit cards. Square is just card reader that can be used with a phone and comes all the protection of any CC.  

Realize that there literally billions and billions of credit card/debit transactions every day and it is going up. No one is tracking unless you do something really, really stupid. IRS doesn’t get any report from any CC companies.

Guy may cancel the transaction but CC will contact you to verify. The real issue is, if there is a dispute like guy canceling then you won’t get paid until the dispute is settled.

Posted By: anonymousfun
.... IRS doesn’t get any report from any CC companies....
Incorrect.  The IRS does get a 1099-K from the credit card companies, if you are over a certain threshold of sales.  Then they compare it to your tax return to see if you've been declaring that income.

It's Form 1099-K

If you're compelled you can read up on this  LOL

The biggest problem with using credit cards for adult services is the banks that process these transactions.  You can look that up as well  LOL

Posted By: anonymousfun
It is just like using credit card terminal in a store or getting one for yourself to accept credit cards. Square is just card reader that can be used with a phone and comes all the protection of any CC.  
   
 Realize that there literally billions and billions of credit card/debit transactions every day and it is going up. No one is tracking unless you do something really, really stupid. IRS doesn’t get any report from any CC companies.  
   
 Guy may cancel the transaction but CC will contact you to verify. The real issue is, if there is a dispute like guy canceling then you won’t get paid until the dispute is settled.

What's next? Deposits?

-- Modified on 3/5/2015 9:47:33 PM

I used Square for a short time and ended up having my account cancelled. I "titled" all the purchases as "computer consultation" or something similar and was still booted off Square. I've also used Shopify for clients to purchase time with me and had that account flagged and cancelled as well.

As far as worrying about having the client cancel or refund the transaction, years ago when I was working for an agency they would have us buy credit card imprint slips, take an imprint of the credit card (have them sign it as well) and write down the client's drivers license number on the imprint slip.

or couldn't possibly go to an ATM and draw cash against it before meeting you. SMH. Cash is anonymous, less expensive than CCs and much less risk of ripoff, etc...

It is easy to find a card processing/merchant services provider. Fees can be substantial and must be planned for in advance. Just a complexity to keep track of. The bigger challenge is ensuring that no one in the chain IDs you as an Adult Services provider - most all domestic financial institutions will shut your account down very quickly.  

There are a number of threads in the past year or so about provider accounts being cancelled. So are accounts for porn companies and their people, legal marijuana growers and dispensaries, and other "problematic" industries.  

Maybe some gals will share via PM how they do it. I know some have been successful with it for quite a while.

Posted By: MasterZen
or couldn't possibly go to an ATM and draw cash against it before meeting you. SMH. Cash is anonymous, less expensive than CCs and much less risk of ripoff, etc...  
   
 It is easy to find a card processing/merchant services provider. Fees can be substantial and must be planned for in advance. Just a complexity to keep track of. The bigger challenge is ensuring that no one in the chain IDs you as an Adult Services provider - most all domestic financial institutions will shut your account down very quickly.  
   
 There are a number of threads in the past year or so about provider accounts being cancelled. So are accounts for porn companies and their people, legal marijuana growers and dispensaries, and other "problematic" industries.  
   
 Maybe some gals will share via PM how they do it. I know some have been successful with it for quite a while.  
   
 

but as a business owner myself... I can say that the "cashback" is paid by the merchant/small business who accepted your card. Visa and AMEX sure as hell don't pay it! That 2% plus fees can take 5% or more out of the business's pocket. Provider charges $1000, at end of day gets $950 less other expenses. Profits reduced. For me, a necessary evil and CODB - but if I could avoid it, I would!

For those paranoid about identity/data theft, Square transactions are not tightly secured (info typically sent over wifi) and (more importantly for P4P players) as such, may receive greater scrutiny from the banks.

...I have a consulting corporation and used them for years. Never any issues or charge backs or even excessive use. One day out of the clear blue I received an email:  

We’re sorry to inform you that we are deactivating your account. We reviewed your account and found
- that your business is prohibited by Section 6 of the Square Seller Agreement, which means we cannot accept payments related to your business.
We regret that you will no longer be able to process transactions using Square.
We appreciate your having chosen Square and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
The Square Compliance Team

When I looked up the section this is what it said:  

6a. Your Square Account
By creating a Square Account, you confirm that you are either a legal resident of the United States, a United States citizen, or a business entity authorized to conduct business by the state(s) in which you operate. The Services and your Square Account may only be used for business purposes in the fifty states of the United States of America and the District of Columbia. You may not export the Services directly or indirectly, and you acknowledge that the Services may be subject to export restrictions imposed by US law, including US Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. Chapter VII).
By creating a Square Account, you also confirm that you will not accept payments in connection with the following businesses or business activities: (1) any illegal activity or goods, (2) buyers or membership clubs, including dues associated with such clubs, (3) credit counseling or credit repair agencies, (4) credit protection or identity theft protection services, (5) direct marketing or subscription offers or services, (6) infomercial sales, (7) internet/mail order/telephone order pharmacies or pharmacy referral services (where fulfillment of medication is performed with an internet or telephone consultation, absent a physical visit with a physician including re-importation of pharmaceuticals from foreign countries), (8) unauthorized multi-level marketing businesses, (9) inbound or outbound telemarketers, (10) prepaid phone cards or phone services, (11) rebate based businesses, (12) up-sell merchants, (13) bill payment services, (14) betting, including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, off-track betting, and wagers at races, (15) manual or automated cash disbursements, (16) prepaid cards, checks, or other financial merchandise or services, (17) sales of money-orders or foreign currency, (18) wire transfer money orders, (19) high-risk products and services, including telemarketing sales, (20) automated fuel dispensers, (21) adult entertainment oriented products or services (in any medium, including internet, telephone, or printed material), (22) sales of (i) firearms, firearm parts or hardware, and ammunition; or (ii) weapons and other devices designed to cause physical injury (23) internet/mail order/telephone order cigarette, tobacco or vaporizer sales, (24) drug paraphernalia, (25) occult materials, (26) hate or harmful products, (27) escort services, or (28) bankruptcy attorneys or collection agencies engaged in the collection of debt.

 
The account was set up through a legal consulting corporation. Apparently, Square felt it violated one of the things mentioned above. I could have argued and inquired further but did not want to raise any red flags (or additional red flags apparently).  

I agree that CASH IS KING. If you must, incorporate and set up a PayPal but even then PayPal has cracked down, is scrutinizing accounts and you have to be very, very careful.  

As far as your IRS comment, that is not the issue as long as you are filing your taxes and declaring income. IRS "technically" doesn't care what you do, you can file as a KG (Known Gambler), drug dealer, whatever...as long as they get paid on your income they are happy. That's not to say other branches of the government won't care ;)

Hope this helps and good luck. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.  

Toni

Bitcoin solves all of these problems.  It has become more popular over the past year or so, and I'm not sure when it will really become widely used, but I expect it to be within the next few years.

Posted By: MiaLopez91
My girlfriend has been using one for years but I am a bit apprehensive as a guy might cancel the transaction after or it would be like waving a flag to the IRS.

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