Dear Awesome Reader!

It’s half way through February, and we don’t have much new information to share. We wish we did!

We’ve received more declinations with some reasons why attached to them. They inevitably relate to content that is “concerning to the underwriters” of the banks and credit card companies.

We’ve come to the conclusion that we need to address the concerns head on, and not just look for a more lenient processor. As such we’ve composed and sent the following response to all the companies that declined us.

We hope that they will re-review our application while keeping in mind that the rules are there to prevent harm to real people, not imaginary ones.

We’ll let you know when we hear back from them!

All the best,
Patrick and Fraser

P.S. If you want to help us keep things running in the interim, feel free to subscribe to Patrick’s Patreon, leave something in his Tip Jar, or buy us a Cup of Coffee!

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Dear X,

Thank you for submitting Class Comics for credit card servicing approval last month. We really appreciate your efforts, and were of course disappointed by the acquiring bank’s declination.

Since then, we’ve taken into consideration the feedback from several other acquiring banks and are hoping to submit our company for reconsideration with the following two items in mind. The first is an overhaul of our website, since we can’t truly control who sees what, and the second are the rules that were most likely quickly applied against us.

Firstly, we’ve completely redesigned our website so that there is no adult material plainly displayed anywhere within the site. We have re-made our covers, edited our text, and created tactfully redacted sample images.

Our focus is, and has always been, on telling positive stories in comic format with beautiful erotic art. Our good guys always win, and the bad guys always lose. Our morals aren’t questionable, as long as you accept sex as positive and natural. 

We’ve been told many times that our comics help people to understand their sexuality and grow more comfortable with themselves. We’re a source of positivity within the LGBTQ+ community. We celebrate different body types, races, genders, and fetishes!  We’ve won awards, been translated into multiple languages, been featured in university dissertations, interviewed for several documentaries, and been asked to attend conferences to talk about what we do!  

Unfortunately we’re a singularly unique product that crosses two worlds; comic books and sex. As a result, we believe that we’re being judged by rules that were never set in place to be applied to completely fictional creations. 

Much of the feedback from several acquiring banks has been that the following items can’t be included in our comics: escorts, drugs or consuming drugs, watersports, alcohol/drunkenness, weapons, blood or violence and death. (This is of course, in addition to items that have actual legal restrictions on portraying them, such as underage participants or bestiality, which we completely avoid.)

These rules are designed to protect real people. In that context, they make sense, however there are no real people in our case. The “idea” of these themes within the context of fiction is completely different from them actually happening in real life. Otherwise, tv shows or movies couldn’t portray murder, robbery or assault as they wouldn’t be deemed as “legal”. 

We completely understand where the rules are coming from. Pornhub and X-tube changed the world and made banking institutions fearful of being implicated in terrible things. However, we’re being caught up in a wide net.

In addition to not featuring real people, our publications don’t fall into the category of  “Obscenity” in both Canada and the USA when using either the Miller Test or the Butler Test. 

As an example, sites that show BDSM, along with the model stating prior that they consent, and afterwards that they are unharmed can be signed up for with Visa and Mastercard. So clearly there is an approval process that can be used for circumstances where clearly no harm is being done. 

We are wondering if you could again present our website along with our case. We can understand why we might have been summarily dismissed the first time, but hope that with a larger perspective and consideration of why the guidelines are there, there might be a different outcome.

As a small, independent company that has been in business for 22 years, we pride ourselves on contributing positively to the LGBTQ+ community by supporting and encouraging Gay artists to freely express their creativity, diversity, and culture. 

We sincerely thank you for reading this far and considering our request.

Sincerely,
Patrick Fillion & Robert Fraser
www.classcomics.com