Not morals, but charge disputes. We tried to find a way to work with this industry to lower what American Express considers unacceptably high rates of customer disputes. The company couldn't. Disputes range from fraud to denials that cards were used. Adult sites will no longer be able to accept American Express.
Sites can still accept other credit cards, however.
Discover Card says it will work with adult sites. MasterCard International also accepts adult sites, says spokeswoman Heidi Lau. Visa has had problems but has no policy against adult sites, spokesman Sean Healy says. The move by American Express makes sense to industry analyst Stuart Feldstein, president of SMR Research. He likens it to the situation with 900-number charges that stirred controversy when they were first implemented.