In the adult entertainment industry, one of the biggest challenges merchants face is payment processing. As a high-risk vertical, adult businesses experience lower-than-average card approval rates due to strict issuer controls and heightened fraud concerns. These challenges can result in significant revenue loss when legitimate customer payments are declined.
Fortunately, there are proven strategies to improve authorization rates and boost conversions. This blog post explores two key approaches that can make a substantial difference in your payment success rates.
The Challenge of High-Risk Payment Processing
Adult merchants struggle with:
- Lower authorization rates (typically 70-80%) compared to mainstream businesses
- Regional payment barriers and cross-border transaction difficulties
- Customer hesitation to use personal credit cards for adult purchases
- Strict issuer controls designed specifically for high-risk categories
These challenges combine to create a difficult payment environment. However, implementing the right strategies can significantly improve your success rates.
Strategy #1: Smart Card Routing Across Multiple Acquirers
Smart routing involves maintaining relationships with multiple acquiring banks and strategically directing each transaction to optimize approval chances.
How It Works
Instead of processing all payments through a single acquiring bank, a payment orchestration platform can:
- Route transactions to the most suitable acquirer based on factors like card type, issuing country, and transaction amount
- Use local acquirers to process transactions domestically rather than cross-border
- Implement automatic retry logic when initial authorization attempts fail
- Optimize processing by merchant category code (MCC) and region
Measurable Results
According to payment industry data, high-risk merchants implementing smart routing typically see:
- Authorization rate improvements of 5-15 percentage points
- Significant recovery of previously declined transactions
- Dramatic improvements in cross-border transaction success, especially in regions like Latin America, where only about 29% of cards are enabled for international payments
By routing European card payments through European acquirers or Latin American transactions through local processors, merchants can boost approval rates from the 70-80% range to 80-90% or higher.
By routing European card payments through European acquirers or Latin American transactions through local processors, merchants can boost approval rates from the 70-80% range to 80-90% or higher.
Strategy #2: Offering Local Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)
Beyond smart routing, providing customers with popular local payment options can dramatically increase conversion rates, particularly in regions where credit cards aren’t the preferred payment method.
Regional Payment Preferences
- Europe: In the Netherlands, cards account for only 14% of online transactions, while the iDEAL bank transfer system represents 58%. Merchants who only accept cards are effectively missing 86% of potential Dutch customers.
- Latin America: Credit cards account for only about 35% of e-commerce transactions across the region. In Brazil, Pix (instant bank transfer) represents approximately 37% of online payments, nearly equal to credit cards at 44%.
- Mexico: Less than half (48%) of online payments use credit cards. Bank transfers (21%), digital wallets (21%), and cash vouchers like OXXO (3%) make up the majority of transactions.
Conversion Impact
Merchants who add local payment methods to their checkout typically see:
- Conversion rate improvements of 10-20% in target regions
- Broader customer reach, including younger consumers and those without credit cards
- Higher overall checkout completion rates
- Improved customer satisfaction through familiar payment options
The Combined Approach: Maximum Authorization Uplift
The most effective strategy combines both approaches:
- Implement multi-acquirer smart routing to optimize card authorizations and recover potential declines
- Offer relevant local payment methods in each target market to capture customers who can’t or won’t use cards
For example, an adult content merchant selling in Brazil could route card payments through the optimal local acquirer while also offering Pix as an alternative. This ensures that even if a customer’s credit card is declined (or they prefer not to use it), they can still complete their purchase through Pix.
Real-World Comparison
| Strategy | Estimated Authorization/Conversion Rate | Benefit |
| Single acquirer, cards only | 70-80% authorization rate | Baseline performance |
| With smart routing | 80-90% authorization rate | 5-10% uplift through optimized routing |
| Netherlands: Cards only | ~14% market coverage | Limited customer reach |
| Netherlands: With iDEAL | ~72%+ market coverage | 5X improvement in potential customers |
| Brazil: Cards only | ~44% market coverage | Missing the majority of the market |
| Brazel: With Pix | ~81% market coverage | Nearly double the potential reach |
Implementing These Strategies for Maximum Revenue Growth
For adult merchants looking to maximize revenue, implementing smart payment routing and offering local payment methods are no longer optional strategies – they’re essential practices. By optimizing card authorization paths and providing payment alternatives that align with local preferences, adult businesses can significantly narrow the gap with mainstream authorization rates.
These approaches not only increase immediate conversion rates and revenue but also build payment resilience for the long term. In a high-risk environment where every successful transaction matters, the 10-20% lift these strategies can provide makes them among the most valuable optimizations any adult merchant can implement.
Centrobill helps adult merchants maximize revenue with smart routing, ensuring optimal payment processing, higher approval rates, and increased conversions through intelligent, adaptive transaction management.
