Fighting human trafficking: who really gets the money?

Adult content is one of the most closely watched activities for Visa and Mastercard. Since 2021, Mastercard has required platforms to verify the identity and age of every person who uploads and every person who appears in content. Visa also expects the identity of creators, affiliates and agents to be traceable.

The goal is clear: make sure nobody is exploited on the platform while a third party collects their earnings. Banks think the same way. Payouts to beneficiaries they cannot explain look, to them, like a money mule network.

• A bank account in someone else's name. The creator asks for earnings to be paid into another person's account.
• One bank account for several creators. A single account receives the earnings of several people.
• An "agency" that collects for everyone. It manages several accounts and receives the money in their place.
• A bank account change just before a payout, often together with a new password or email address.
• A banned creator who comes back under a new username, sometimes with the same people behind it.

None of these signs proves exploitation on its own. Each one calls for a check, and a record of the decision taken.

A rule written in your terms of service is not enough for your PSP. It wants figures and evidence:

• every paid person has proven their identity and age, with a liveness check;
• every agency and every affiliate has its own verified identity;
• every bank account that receives earnings matches the verified identity;
• the payouts you blocked, and why;
• bans linked to an identity, not just to an email address.

The core of Pleenk is a single digital identity. Every creator, co-performer, agency or affiliate is verified with a liveness check. Their identity is encrypted by Pleenk and stored in a single wallet. The platform receives proof, never the ID document.

Everything is linked to that wallet: accounts, consents, the bank account that receives earnings and any bans. With Certified Payment, the verified identity is matched against the IBAN. A third party cannot collect a creator's earnings. A banned profile is blocked if it tries to come back. You then share your report with your PSP in one click.

Can an agency receive its creators' earnings?

This is the case that calls for the most caution. The agency must be identified as an agency, with its own verified identity. Each creator's earnings must go to an account in their own name. If your model allows an exception, it must be written down, justified and controlled.

What if a creator wants to change their bank account?

The new account must match the creator's verified identity. A change just before a payout calls for a new check of the person themselves.

Is the identity ↔ bank account check enough to fight trafficking?

No, it is one central control among others. It works alongside verifying the people who appear in content, consent, a reporting channel and bans that hold.

Does Pleenk do anti-money laundering checks?

No. Pleenk does not do sanctions screening or anti-money laundering monitoring. Pleenk verifies who is behind each account and who receives the earnings.