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Having a few of our own merchant accounts for non-adult internet stuff, I can confirm that VISA/MC and their issuing banks have gotten pretty ridiculous. Anyone who has applied for a domestic account with any online business in the last year has probably been through what I have, their definition of 'high-risk' has expanded to include a lot of things.
As 'nevermind' seems to espouse, VISA/MC have the right to 'protect' their customers. They could easily do so by spending some of their trillions in revenue each year to upgrade and update their networks, add security features that deter fraud, and provide internet merchants with a standard platform to process transactions. Instead they choose to levy fines. They have had years to adapt to the widespread fraud online, but they have yet to come up with even a workable solution (Verified by VISA is 'optional' for merchants). Instead they advertise their 'zero liability' (a.k.a. a license for law-abiding citizens to commit online fraud) and place all the weight of the problem on the backs of merchants.
VISA/MC prefer to bully the merchants around, let's hope Walmart Sears et al. can put a dent in there. I've rambled enough, having been on the fine/penalty end of things I can say it's ridiculous, the cost of doing business is bad enough without dealing with arbitrary bullshit.
But yes, I do think companies like Epoch should stop processing for a lot of the people they do. They need to put their feet down and stamp out a lot of the shady practices they let their 'clients' get away with in the name of the dollar. Those surfers will still sign up for porn sites, they'll just do it at reputable places and everyone will be happy.
- Titus
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