What Happened to WishTender and why did it close in 2024?
What Happened to WishTender?
In a surprising and heartfelt announcement, WishTender, a service popular among the adult creator community, has revealed its decision to shut down operations. The closure comes after several challenging months of trying to overcome a series of setbacks, including severe financial and technical issues.
What Happened?
WishTender’s troubles began when it was abruptly removed from Stripe, a major payment processing service. This removal triggered a cascade of problems, as few alternatives could match Stripe’s capabilities. The company stayed in beta mode to address numerous issues, such as finding reliable backup processors, resolving functional payment problems, ensuring compliance, and preventing misuse of the platform by bad actors.
In the last few days, WishTender faced an unprecedented and malicious attack known as “card testing.” Unlike typical card testers who seek to profit, these attackers aimed solely to inflict harm on WishTender. The timing was particularly unfortunate, as WishTender was already vulnerable, and despite their best efforts, the company’s resources were insufficient to fend off the attacks.
New fraud detection tools were deployed, but the attackers continually found ways to circumvent them. Although WishTender believed they had eventually found a solution, it was too late. The attacks had already caused significant issues with Visa, leading to an existential threat to all of their payment processing capabilities. Ultimately, the combination of these challenges proved insurmountable with the resources at hand.
A Word from Dash (The Owner)
Dash, a key figure at WishTender, expressed deep sadness over the shutdown. In a message to the community, they reflected on the journey and the joy of building a product that served the adult creator community. Launched three years ago, WishTender was the first cash wishlist service of its kind. Dash fondly recalled the engagement with the community, the memes, the unique character “Steve the Spider,” and the camaraderie among users.
Despite the disappointment, Dash emphasized the importance of the lessons learned and the impact WishTender had on the industry. The challenges faced highlighted the harsh realities of building a platform in this niche market, from financial discrimination to persistent attacks and a lack of adequate tools and funding.
What’s Next?
WishTender is now focused on working with its payment partners to finalize payouts for participants in their beta program. For those not involved in the beta, no further action is needed. The team at WishTender has promised to share more details about their journey and the challenges they faced in due course.
Alternative Options
Now Both Cashapp UK and WishTender have encountered significant challenges in processing payments for adult businesses. However, one company, All Things Worn Group which includes sites such as Findoms Only and Male Things Worn, has developed a robust solution to address these issues. Kinkcoins allows buyers to purchase tokens that can be sent anonymously to sellers. The sellers can then cash out into real money to an adult-friendly Visa card, which can be either a virtual card compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay or a physical card. This innovative approach offers a secure and discreet payment option for the adult industry.
