Newbie - FAQ
When I travel, I require a gent to secure his date with a 50% non-refundable deposit. If he's not comfortable with this, he can remain "penciled in" instead of having his preferred date/time "in ink". If another gent is willing to send a deposit for that same date/time, the date goes to him instead and I try to find another time to see the penciled in gent (which may or may not be available). Deposits can either be made via bank wire or FedEx'd cash/cashier's cheque to a business account completely untraceable to adult interests.
My entry level date is 2hrs and a tad pricier than most, I screen heavily and I am very low volume so it's not as if I have a que of gents lined up to fill a NCNS/cancellation slot. But then again, there is also a reason my reviews/rating are what they are.... 
I truly see my dates as just that, dates; and the time/energy I devote to each is something works both in my favor (for the satisfaction and enjoyment of my friends) as well as against me (placing me at more risk in a NC/NS situation than if I were a turn-style operator).
Yes, there is risk to the gent sending a deposit. There is also risk to me if I don't have a deposit. The last three trips I've taken I've had 1-2 gents each time who declined the deposit - wonder of wonders, each of them cancelled/NCNS! It simply would be foolish for me to NOT request deposits. If a man can't afford to risk the deposit, he should seriously consider whether a less expensive/accountable companion might suit him better.
I have cancelled once on a secured date in 7 years (needed to travel across the country for a relative with cancer) and refunded the 13k deposit in its entirety despite the gent's generous offer to keep the travel expenses I'd already incurred. As for non-secured dates, I think I've cancelled (NEVER NC/NS ever) maybe 4 times in 7 years and each time I sent a short list of alternative ladies the gent could see.
The bottom line is that for every gent out there, there is a lady who's looks, deportment and business practices fit with what he is looking for. If you are not comfortable with any aspect of seeing a lady, do the two of you a favor and see someone else!
When I travel, I require a gent to secure his date with a 50% non-refundable deposit. If he's not comfortable with this, he can remain "penciled in" instead of having his preferred date/time "in ink". If another gent is willing to send a deposit for that same date/time, the date goes to him instead and I try to find another time to see the penciled in gent (which may or may not be available). Deposits can either be made via bank wire or FedEx'd cash/cashier's cheque to a business account completely untraceable to adult interests.
My entry level date is 2hrs and a tad pricier than most, I screen heavily and I am very low volume so it's not as if I have a que of gents lined up to fill a NCNS/cancellation slot. But then again, there is also a reason my reviews/rating are what they are.... I truly see my dates as just that, dates; and the time/energy I devote to each is something works both in my favor (for the satisfaction and enjoyment of my friends) as well as against me (placing me at more risk in a NC/NS situation than if I were a turn-style operator).
Yes, there is risk to the gent sending a deposit. There is also risk to me if I don't have a deposit. The last three trips I've taken I've had 1-2 gents each time who declined the deposit - wonder of wonders, each of them cancelled/NCNS! It simply would be foolish for me to NOT request deposits. If a man can't afford to risk the deposit, he should seriously consider whether a less expensive/accountable companion might suit him better.
I have cancelled once on a secured date in 7 years (needed to travel across the country for a relative with cancer) and refunded the 13k deposit in its entirety despite the gent's generous offer to keep the travel expenses I'd already incurred. As for non-secured dates, I think I've cancelled (NEVER NC/NS ever) maybe 4 times in 7 years and each time I sent a short list of alternative ladies the gent could see.
The bottom line is that for every gent out there, there is a lady who's looks, deportment and business practices fit with what he is looking for. If you are not comfortable with any aspect of seeing a lady, do the two of you a favor and see someone else!
Personally, I do not accept CC (have toyed with the idea and may in the future) so I can't speak to how one would return a CC deposit. Part of my screening obtaining the gent's full legal name and were I to need to return a deposit, I'd inquire as to the best address to send it to. In my singular cancellation instance, it was delivered in cash (FedEx) and that's how I returned it. The gent in question was single and worked mainly from a home office (for a researchable company) so sending it to his home was easiest. I'd also seen him several times previously, so he was aware of my integrity regarding his personal info.
I know some people are leary of FedExing cash but I've never had a single issue with the process in the 7 years I've been accepting them. Some are also concerned about the 10k reporting requirement but a simple Google search nullifies that (so long as withdrawls are made under 10k and 25+ hours apart, there is no flag).
It pays to remember that reputation is everything in this business if you want to operate on a 'higher plane'. Ladies/agencies who are flighty, flakey, or handle their affairs differently than I do can simply change their name/persona and reinvent themselves if word gets out about their nature. For me to do that would mean a HUGE loss of income as I reestablished myself (since the whole idea is to NOT tie the new persona to the old). And also, it may help to understand that I operated 5 of my 7 years entirely by word of mouth - zero reviews, zero advertising, zero website/presence. To be in my rate bracket with none of the aforementioned, one must have more going for them than a cute face and friendly attitude.
I don't know the reputation of the agency the OP was dealing with so I can't speak to how safe a bet a CC deposit might be. I know that I would be skeptical of any sort of paper trail leading to an agency simply for the fact that they seem to be targeted more than independents, probably due to the level of risk/reward for LE to invest time into busting them. To spend the man hours to get past an independent's rigorous screening only to have a misdemeanor arrest (which is likely never convicted on) and no "added value" of a tax evasion conviction isn't the most politically expedient way to devote resources (not that any man hours devoted to activities between consenting adults is, lol). Agencies tend to make better targets as the additional charges of pimping/pandering/tax evasion/trafficking/etc are more likely to stick and make headlines.
My suggestion to the OP is that if the agency in question required deposit and he was comfortable with the concept, that he send it in cash - and trust in their reputation and his ability to absorb the financial hit if he's wrong about them.