VISA & MASTERCARD COMPLAINT CAMPAIGN (2025)
Context / Why
Last Updated: 24 July 2025
If you're reading this, it probably means you're pissed at the recent policies by Visa and Mastercard, which they have used to pressure Steam and itch.io into retiring or delisting tens of thousands of games with NSFW content or even for simply being tagged as having adult or LGBTQ themes.
- https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content
- https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/07/valve-gets-pressured-by-payment-processors-with-a-new-rule-for-game-devs-and-various-adult-games-removed/
Even if you don't care about these games or the people who make them, this is bad because a threat to one type of media is a threat to ALL media and free speech for everyone. Payment processors are not arbiters of morality or the law, and they should not be able to use financial threats to control what people create.
- https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/how-mastercard-is-endangering-sex-workers
- https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy
An Australia-based extremist rights group called "Collective Shout" was apparently able to influence Visa and Mastercard into enacting this harmful policy with only a thousand or so complaints and an open letter published on their website:
- https://www.collectiveshout.org/open-letter-to-payment-processors
- Archive Link: https://archive.is/R0wgv
- https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/itch-io-latest-in-platforms-pressured-by-credit-card-companies-as-well-as-activist-group-collective-shout-which-has-successfully-caught-an-award-winning-indie-and-more-in-the-crossfire/
Collective Shout is entirely at fault, not Steam and itch.io — and while you may be understandly upset at Steam / itch.io for caving into the pressure, that does not help any campaign to pressure payment processors into reversing the policies that started this mess in the first place. The aim of this bin is to support these campaigns.
How / Methods
This bin covers two methods: contacting payment processor support as a bank consumer, and contacting their Investor Relations department as an investor.
Method 1: Consumer Complaint
When making a complaint directly with Visa and Mastercard, I recommend that you follow these guidelines or you risk having your complaint thrown out.
- Be polite and professional. Avoid getting upset and berating the customer service rep. They are not personally responsible for their company's policies. Take a breath and simply follow the script.
- Keep your complaint focused, clear, and concise. You may be tempted to go off script and air out your grievances, but this is not a winning strategy. In order for any campaign to be successful, it needs a high volume of legitimate Visa / Mastercard users voicing their opposition to the new policies and in support of the businesses they use, i.e. Steam and itch.io.
- State your intent to file a formal complaint with your country's consumer financial protections agency. Historically in the USA, stating your intent like this as a consumer has had a lot of power to pressure banks to get their act together. While this power might be diminished under the Trump admin, you should do it anyway — it's your right as a consumer and there are still laws that banks are required follow.
Contact Info
Visa
Look up the support number by country: https://usa.visa.com/support.html
- USA & Canada: 1 800 847 2911
- Australia: 1 800 125 440
Mastercard
https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/personal/get-support.html
- USA: 1-800-627-8372
- International: +1-636-722-7111
Consumer Financial Protection
Here are resources to contact your country's consumer financial protection agency. Even if you don't actually file a complaint, stating your intent to contact the agency directly at Visa / Mastercard makes it more likely that they will take your complaint seriously.
USA: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- https://portal.consumerfinance.gov/consumer/s/login/SelfRegister (account creation required)
- 1-855-411-2372
Canada: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
- https://fcpc-prdint01-csc-wap.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/CSCWeb/CSCForm
- 1-866-461-3222
Method 1 Script
Hi, I am a customer of (Name of Your Bank) and I need your help to document a complaint with regards to recent policies your company has enacted. These policies restrict adult content creators from using (Visa / Mastercard), which has prevented me from viewing and purchasing legal adult content, specifically on the Steam and itch.io marketplaces. This is harmful to the businesses I support, and I strongly urge (Visa / Mastercard) to reverse this policy and stop placing unfair restrictions on these businesses. I am actively seeking alternative payment methods until this matter is resolved.
I also intend to file a formal complaint with the (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) regarding these policies, which I believe (Visa / Mastercard) is using to illegally block payments to legitimate businesses that I support directly with my money.
Method 2: Investor Relations Complaint
This method takes a bit of research, but could be an effective form of complaint in addition to Method 1. If you have money in any kind of retirement fund (e.g. IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc.) or another kind of Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), it's likely that some of your money is invested in Visa and Mastercard stock.
First, find out the name of your retirement fund and look it up on Morningstar. Once you've found it, click on the Portfolio tab, scroll down to Holdings and look for Visa Inc Class A (ticker NYSE: V
) and Mastercard Inc Class A (ticker NYSE: MA
). These stocks might be bundled into another layer of ETFs, so you might have to dig a little to confirm that you do have money in these stocks.
For example, the Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 uses the ticker symbol MUTF: VTHRX
, and one of the holdings is Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares or MUTF: VSMPX
, which is a common holding of nearly all Vanguard retirement target funds. Within the latter you will find that this index fund is invested in both Visa and Mastercard stock.
The easiest way to contact investor relations is by email or phone, but if you want to go the extra mile, you can send a physical letter and have it notarized to make it more likely that they have to respond to your inquiry. In either case, remember to follow the guidelines from Method 1 and remain professional with your complaint.
Additional Reading:
- https://www.kalzumeus.com/2017/09/09/identity-theft-credit-reports/
- https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/visa-merchant-data-standards-manual.pdf
- https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/public/mastercardcom/na/global-site/documents/mastercard-rules.pdf
Contact Info
Visa Investor Relations
Mail:
Visa Inc.
Attention: Investor Relations
P.O. Box 8999
San Francisco, CA 94128-8999
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 650-432-7644
Mastercard Investor Relations
https://investor.mastercard.com/resources/investor-contacts/default.aspx
Mail:
Mastercard Inc.
Attention: Investor Relations
2000 Purchase St.
Purchase, NY 10577
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 914-249-4565
Method 2 Script
To the Investor Relations team at (Visa / Mastercard):
My name is (Your Name) and I am a shareholder of (Visa / Mastercard) through (Name of Your Investment Bank). I recently learned that (Visa / Mastercard) has begun a new policy of enforcement regarding merchants that engage in the provision of adult content and services. I have been reading recent reports about how legitimate platforms like Steam and itch.io, which are not primarily engaged in the sale of adult content and services, have been pressured by your company to cut off thousands of revenue streams as a direct result of your company's enforcement policies.
As a regular customer of (Steam or itch.io), I am very displeased with the enforcement actions of your company because it is preventing me from viewing and purchasing content that is clearly not in violation of your company's merchant policies, nor any government regulation, law, or legal precedent. In many instances, the removed content was not intended to be "adults only" and did not contain any obscene material.
Should your company continue to enact unfair and unjust enforcement of its merchant policies on legitimate businesses, I will have no choice but to fully divest my funds from (Visa / Mastercard) in protest and to continue to support the businesses that I am a patron of. I will also be actively seeking alternative payment methods until this matter is fully addressed.
Regards,
(Your Name)