A Perth business owner has hit back at a “discriminatory” finance service after her business account was blocked from receiving funds for days.
Lucy Banks, 34, opened a business account with institute Wise to organise planning finances for the Adult Industry Choice Awards in November — an event known as the “biggest night in Australia’s adult industry”.
Wise is a financial company that operates solely online, allowing account holders to transfer money internationally through a range of currencies.
As a working mum-of-three, the Perth woman opted to join Wise to avoid the hassle of visiting a traditional brick-and-mortar bank to establish a business account.
She had connected her Wise card to her Apple Pay, and had been using the account as an ordinary banking account for all business expenses — until this week.
Camera IconWise is an online financial institute that allows users to send and receive money without visiting a physical bank. Credit: Wise Australia
On Tuesday October 14, the 34-year-old noticed she was unable to receive payments to her account.
At first, Ms Banks believed the issue to be on the financial institute’s end — until she reached out to their support team via the app’s Live chat.
“We believe recent activity on your account may be in breach of our Wise card processing agreement,” the Perth woman was reportedly told.
“Because of this, you’ll no longer be able to get paid by card.”
One of the core motivations behind Ms Banks setting up the Wise business account was to receive sponsorship for the awards — something she was now unable to do with the account restrictions.
She said the limitations had caused her as much distress and inconvenience as not being able to use a traditional everyday account.
“It is so wild and frustrating because I’m not doing anything illegal and everything is above board.”
Camera IconLucy Banks was told her account was blocked over ‘recent activity’. Credit: @imlucybanks/Instagram
The Perth woman believes her association with the sex industry and a recent sponsorship payment from a strip club are the reasons why her account was limited.
While she has previously worked in the OnlyFans sphere, Ms Banks has since shifted to a marketing and PR role in the adult entertainment industry.
“It is just really frustrating and it felt like discrimination,” she told news.com.au.
“’I am five weeks out from an event and I went with Wise in the first place because it was online and really easy for me.
“I don’t have time to go into a bank and cross my fingers that (account limitations) do not happen again.”
Camera IconThe former OnlyFans creator believes her ties to the sex industry may be behind the limitation. Credit: @imlucybanks/Instagram
After media covered Ms Banks’ experience, Wise restored access to her account on Thursday, October 16.
“As a regulated financial institution in Australia and around the world, our dedicated teams must conduct necessary due diligence reviews of account activity,” a statement the institute sent to media outlets read.
“When this happens, we communicate directly with account holders via their registered email addresses, explaining the situation and what information or steps are needed to conclude the review.
“Unfortunately, this appears to be a situation where our communications were overlooked, leading to an extended delay in resolving the feature’s availability. While the feature was pending resolution, the business account remained active and operational for standard bank transfers.”
The WA business owner said she is certain she never received any email communication from Wise regarding the account issue, even checking her spam folder for any missed messages.
Despite the restoration to her account, Ms Banks said she felt she was being “pushed out” of the institute and withdrew all funds.
Camera IconThe Perth woman is adamant she was not contacted by Wise, only hearing from them when she reached out to their live chat support. Credit: @imlucybanks/Instagram
She has expressed fury over the limitations put in place by Wise, maintaining she has done nothing to warrant being cut off from her business funds.
“My business is not directly to do with sex work, why are they able to say they are going to freeze your account just because they don’t like you?”
The Perth woman said there are a multitude of issues like this when it comes to women in the sex industry dealing with financial institutes.
“There’s no official institution that says ‘we accept sex workers’, there is none – we all run the risk of having our accounts shut down.
“Imagine if banks were like, ‘We are no longer servicing hairdressers’ – people would be up in arms!
“Sex work is the most reliable industry in the world, I would argue, and yet the finance industry keep saying it is risky.
“That is discriminatory.”
PerthNow has contacted both Lucy Banks and Wise for comment.