Ok I just bought some creits just like Celine that way. Here at VG site. with pre pay cards.

It's my understanding that when you buy the Amex card you get a temporary card and the real card is mailed to your home. Like someone else mentioned, I'd prefer not to have a paper trail. I take register to mean that I'm giving out my address, and creating a paper trail. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

@petevg
I think you need to make an effort all on your own to visit the sites and Read them and ge the answers

I think you need to make an effort all on your own to visit the sites and Read them and ge the answers

I did. From the Amex site:

Register online to get one of our new Prepaid Debit Cards in the mail for free

From the Secure.Serve site:

Registering for a Personalized card will give you full access to Serve's features. We'll move any remaining balance on your Temporary Card to your account.

If the card is personalized, with the name, then they have to mail it. These options may work for some, but registration = paper trail and that's a problem for some.

No paper trail, huh ?

Slightly paranoid ?
Dirty little secret ?

Just a thought......
Maybe a P.O. box could be an option for things people don't want being delivered to their home or office.
I keep one in a near by small town myself. Of course, they require $$$ as well.

What exactly has changed? I bought a xbox live subscript off of CDKeys.com a while back and Bank of America locked down my account, canceled my debit card and issued me a new one. Now I bought 30 credits last night and this morning my bank account was on hold. All I had to do was confirm the purchases but wow this ***** is getting real. Wonder do all international transaction now auto trigger a red flag and account hold with all these breaches of account security going on?

I don't care to have either my bank, or my credit card providers, or my government perusing my financial transactions, with the idea that I'm doing something that is worthy of being examined for potential wrongdoing.

As such, and unless Totem can come up with a viable solution using pre-paid debit cards with a biller here in the United States, my credit purchases have come to an end.
​​
Thanks to all for your responses.

I doubt its the government. I think its more about banks limiting liabilities. Can't comment on the prepaid front as I don't use them.

I can't comment on what's happening with US payments. But, if TV and movies are to be believed, the NSA, FBI, ATF, CIA and any number of 3 letter organisations are ridiculously paranoid about national security. The mucho- head-in group were helped by the CIA. Now they are enemies. Loyalties change...

I'm no patriot by any sense but if you look at the UK's history with the IRA,( yet another 3 letter group) you'll start to get an idea of what terrorism is all about :(

Recently in Spain, we had to declare to our banks where our income/deposits came from or lose the account. This was an anti-money laundering/anti-terrorism financing tactic. This doesn't affect me. I'm too damned poor! ;)

I will state this tho... I just used Paypal and it clearly states where you are spending your money. It mentions Epoch (which is fine) but also sends an email to say what you bought and from where. So much for being anonymous! This is no problem for me but I can imagine other members getting in the deep stuff :(

okay its understood that the pre paid cards are NOT accepted internationally.. However whats not being told is that companys such as EPCH have in just the past 3 weeks or so changed their location from california to outside of the U.S. And i have invested lots of money in this software with the understanding my visa would continue to be a valid payment option. Frankley I'm pissed off at Totems lack of action with the situation they certainly knew prior to slapping us in the face.. and i feel that the fact that no post or email was given to its loyal fans is a slap in the face to us it affects. and all of Totems customers should take notice.of Totems lack action and consideration. I for one am done with anything Totem until I see action and since apology!!!

Oh for cryin' out loud! This whole thread is crazy. Paper trails? Anonymity? How long have you been using the Internet and buying things on it?

I worked in IT Security for 20 years...yes...for "The Government". If you think you are anonymous on the Internet, you are seriously deluding yourself. A 13-year old can download free programs from the Internet that could hack your computer, do information searches about you on the Internet, and write a novel about your life history.

Money Laundering a world-wide issue today. "Anonymous" money transfers...yes, even with debit cards...are a major source of it, just like any OTHER "anonymous" money transaction from a phony bank account, whatever. The laws have changed. You are gonna have to get over it.

Blaming Totem for any of it is ludicrous. They didn't change the laws.

What I'm REALLY seeing here are people who want to pay for and download Adult Content Material from the Internet, but they don't want anybody (or somebody specific...wife, fiance', girlfriend, whatever) to KNOW they are doing it. That's a personal problem, not a Totem problem.

Besides, even if you manage to hide it from a "significant other", that in NO WAY means that OTHER people, organizations, institutions, or (insert your most loved Conspiracy Theory here) wouldn't be able to "know" about it if they really wanted to.

You gonna buy "porn" on the Internet? I'll find a 13-year old with a computer who can tell me when, where, and how much you paid for it.

The new laws weren't enacted to prevent you from hiding your "porn" purchases from your wife or employer. There's a hell of a lot more important reason they were enacted. Really now..."The Government" could care LESS if you are a "porn dog" or not. If they REALLY were trying to CATCH you doing that, they'd have to incarcerate over 50% of the population already. Are you in jail yet?

Paper Trails? You leave one every time you do ANYTHING on the Internet. Just the fact that you GO to an adult site leaves a "paper trail". You aren't hiding from ANYBODY who would really want to know. Ask how easy it is for a divorce lawyer to "find out" your Internet habits if they want to when they are representing your wife in a divorce case. There are private investigators who make a GREAT living providing that info to them.

It wouldn't matter if you paid for your VG model cards with sticks and stones using NO money transactions. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out from your Internet "paper trail" when you downloaded them to YOUR computer who "bought" them.

Welcome to the real world.

FalconAF you are not wrong . But it seems that you are only latching on to a single aspect of this. As some members have already stated; by using a pre-paid card you are limiting your financial exposure to those same online (if you will forgive the term "hackers") by purchaseing a pre-paid card with cash. You yourself have already stated that there is no such thing as internet security.

"Blaming Totem for any of it is ludicrous. They didn't change the laws." - absolutely right!

Of course if the south had won this would have never happened! -- LOL 😎

Yeah, I don't care about the whole government "paper trail" issue. When I stated earlier that I use prepaid because they don't leave a paper trail, I meant that I use them so my wife doesn't see my purchase in our banking account. If I was single, you'd bet that I owned every card available through direct purchase from bank 😛​ ! So, I guess in that case I misused the phrase "paper trail."

She knows I purchase them; she even brings them out on the desktop and flips through until one comes up with an outfit she likes. But that doesn't mean she's fine with me using our shared bank account to make these purchases- that's what my personal money that I recieve, like gifts (usually in the form of Visa gift cards) is for, including all of my other hobbies.

There's really no use in arguing over anything; we're just trying to give a suggestion to Totem that would result in immediate and continued purchases. As far as I know, we haven't heard one way or the other regarding the matter other than currently it is not possible to use these prepaid gift cards. We don't know whether to drop the subject or if it being discussed at all behind the scenes. Either way, the issue has been stated and a suggestion has been made and it's up to them from that point on.

I just feel it's important to let Totem know what is and is not worth it to me; obviously they're the judge a​​​​nd will do what's in the best interest of their business. They do give us a number of payment options, but adding this one guarantees sales, be it from someone like me who only uses gift cards due to ease, or someone who is worried about security and just needs that piece of mind. We're all customers to some extent, and I always feel like the more options the better! 😉

Just to be sure, I wasn't just focusing on "The Government" in my post. People in this thread are ***** about companies like Totem, Epoch, and any other third-party billing intermediary and saying things like, "They should change it!" No...they shouldn't. Because they CAN'T. They can't do anything that will allow someone to use "debit cards" the way you used to (overseas purchases from the U.S. specifically). These companies have to abide by the laws that are in place. You may want Totem to "set up a third-party company in the U.S. (like CCBill U.S, instead of the current CCBill EU) so you can use your prepid debit card to buy tokens. CCBill U.S. may not be able to make that transaction for you EITHER, because it would be a "work around" for money laundering to take place to countries outside the U.S. CCBill U.S. would be using pre-paid debit or gift cards then (yours) to ***** the laws in place. They would be the equivalent of the offshore money intermediaries "hiding" your (possible) money laundering transaction, and they aren't gonna be stupid enough to agree to put themselves in that situation.

The real "problem" is the purchaser's lack of access or willingness to use purchasing methods other than debit cards now. If you can't use a pre-paid debit card anymore, and are ***** to use a credt card or alternative payment method...for WHATEVER reason you may have...that is NOT anybody's problem except your own. "Waiting for Totem" to respond back to you with a "solution" that will make you happy is silly. There are numerous other methods available already for Totem as a company to do a financial transaction with you. Just because you may not like those other methods is not Totem's problem, nor should they have to appease anybody about any laws being changed.

Limiting your financial exposure is a smart safety precaution. But let's get real. There is a BIG difference between making a "secure online transaction" with a company like Totem vs going to "Pinky's Porn Emporium" in the Ukraine or a Third World country and giving them your credit or debit card info. CCBill and Epoch and the other payment options Totem uses have been around for a long time and are secure (barring any evidence to the contrary), so using any payment method that will leave a "paper trail" with them isn't the real issue. The SECURITY they provide you is DEPENDANT on them being able to IDENTIFY you are the real owner of the debit or credit card. They CAN'T do that if you try to use an "anonymous pre-paid debit or gift card". THAT is what the new laws are trying to prevent...the use of "anonymous" financial transactions to prevent "money laundering". They, like Totem, can't change the debit card laws. Neither can VISA, Mastercard, or American Express. But people here seem to expect them to.

When your credit or debit card gets "hacked" and you experience an "Identity Theft", it's usually because you gave your info to a site that was dishonest to begin with. Or your OWN computer wasn't secure enough, and a "hacker" got the info because your OWN computer was subject to compromise during the transaction.

It's a good thing to try and "limit your financial exposure" when makig Internet financial transactions. But you can also get paranoid about it too. Unless you are making ALL of your personal financial transactions with cash, you are exposed.

All I am saying is get your reasoning in line with you complaint issue about this whole topic. You can't use a pre-paid debit card with VG anymore? It's not Totem's or any of their third-party billing companies problem to solve THAT for you. They ALREADY have other viable payment options you can use.

You don't want to use any of those other viable payment options because you are trying to "hide" the fact you are buying Adult Content? That's YOUR problem to solve. Not Totem's. Not Epoch's. Not any third-party billing company VG uses.

If you have a "Significant Other" or an Employer that you could get into trouble with if they found out you were a "porn dog", that's YOUR problem. Don't insist Totem or anybody else provide you with a "secure method" to buy their product so you won't get "caught" doing it.

@Falcon: Buddy, you are absolutely correct in all you just said :)

FalconAF - 4 hour(s) ago
...
You may want Totem to "set up a third-party company in the U.S. (like CCBill U.S, instead of the current CCBill EU)
...
CCBill U.S. may not be able to make that transaction for you EITHER, because it would be a "work around" for money laundering to take place to countries outside the U.S. CCBill U.S. would be using pre-paid debit or gift cards then (yours) to ***** the laws in place.

Exactly !!!!

The Final Product is Outside the USA. Does not Matter if the Biller is Here in the USA or in EU.
They CAN NOT process your USA GIFT card to purchase outside the USA.

I've Already Provided at least Two CASH to Card options.
What More Do you Not Understand?

The Law is the Law. It Can't be Changed.

Get a PO box.
Order a dang international Prepaid Card.
Got to Wallmart or CVS and USE CASH to put money on the Card.

Problem Solved!

Spouse Doesn't know...
Paper Trail Leads back to your PO box, Not Your Home.

This is How it works.. Deal with it.

PS This Me Posting as Me, Not as a MOD, not as anything Official from Totem
You are All Mature Adults, and as such, you should take time to learn the changes to the law.


any type of card that you DO NOT have to PUT in your NAME is a "GIFT" card.

Only a card that is Under YOUR NAME can be used for purchase outside the USA.
The CARD Must be Registered to you.

also, sorry I am not yelling. used caps for emphases.

Wow. I had no idea that it was utterly impossible for Totem to incorporate a domestic subsidiary in the United States - thereby creating a "United States product."

I'm sure, however, that some of the highly acclaimed, international corporate lawyers on this site can duly advise Totem, regarding same.

The point of my original post was to make Totem aware that there was NOW a problem with buying credits with debit cards, in the United States. This just might result in a financial loss for Totem - something that Totem just might be interested in.

I had assumed that the posting of my thoughts on same were my prerogative.​

Totem renders a wonderful product, which I have very much enjoyed.

The point of my original post was that I hoped to continue enjoying same, and that something might be worked out by Totem.

For those who wish to play Tolstoy concerning this matter, especially the highly acclaimed, international corporate lawyers on this site, write on.

​​​​​

With all due respect, a "domestic subsidiary" in the United States is still OWNED by the company that created it. In this case, Totem...which is in France...which is in Europe...which is where you can't buy anything from if the purchase originates in the United States using a "gift card". Totem won't be selling the new Las Vegas cards shot in Las Vegas FROM Las Vegas. You'll still be buying them from Totem, Europe.

No, I'm not "Tolstoy". Or a "highly acclaimed, international corporate lawyer". I don't even know what you MEAN by that. Lawyers don't "make laws". Governments do (at least in the U.S.). Lawyers might specialize in something like "International Corporate Law", but they can't PRACTICE in anyplace they aren't legally licensed to PRACTICE their law degree. Even if Totem has "international coporate lawyers", all those lawyes could DO is tell Totem something like, "Well, the U.S. laws prohibit somebody in the U.S. from using a gift card to purchase your product. Isn't anything you can do to change that." I guess if that makes them a "Tolstoy" that's somebody's opinion...which also isn't law.

Just trying to explain to some folks here why their expectations of Totem or their third-party billers are totally unrealistic.

Will it cost Totem lost revenue in sales because of the new laws? Only from U.S. customers who have totally unrealistic expectations from Totem. Or are too lazy to do what they may need to do to continue purchasing the product. Or are too scared that "somebody" might find out they ARE buying the product if they don't use an "anonymous" method to do it.

And as Wyldanimal also said, I am not representing Totem in any "official capacity" with my posts either. So if you want to get pissed off at me, that's fine. I won't lose any sleep over it. But don't get pissed off at Totem. They can't solve the problem of not being able to use "gift cards" from the U.S. anymore to buy their product...unless the current laws change. But I wouldn't hold my breath expecting anybody..lawyer or not...trying to "legally sue" the U.S. government to change the law. Do you honestly think that some "highly acclaimed, international corporate lawyers" in the U.S. representing U.S. companies wouln't have tried to prevent the law because it would cost the U.S. companies income? That is already happening too. Are you gonna buy any more Visa, Mastercard, etc "gift cards" to puchase tokens from Totem? Those U.S. companies just lost all the revenue from those "gift card" purchases you won't be making anymore. And NONE of the arguments from those companies or their lawyers prevented the law from being enacted. And it doesn't look like any of them are trying to sue the government over it. So if THEY couldn't prevent it or get it changed, what on Earth makes you think Totem or Epoch or THEIR lawyers can?

Now having said all that, if you are asking Totem to create a "subsidiary" in the U.S. that TOTALLY falls under U.S. corporate laws, and sells ALL of it's U.S. produced products FROM the U.S., that's a different question. Probably won't happen though, because the cost for Totem to do that would far outweigh any revenues they will lose if you quit buying their product from Europe anymore. All transactions for ALL of their cards, even the ones not filmed in the U.S., would have to be able to be purchased by you FROM their U.S. corporation if you wanted to buy the cards filmed in France using a "gift card", or you STILL wouldn't be able to purchase the cards filmed (sold) in/from France. I'm guessing Totem isn't going to want to spend that kind of money just because you can't use an "anonymous gift card" to buy their product from France anymore.

I'd be more than happy to defer to any Tolstoy wannabe, who has not only a law degree, but, also, a specific law degree in international business and international incorporation.

To the best of my knowledge, a self-professed "government" paid computer nerd does not fit the equation.

Now, I've ***** enough time reading nothing but a bunch of tripe​​ - as such, this is my last post on a thread that has morphed into the irrelevant diatribe and speculation of an uninformed member of this site.

For the record, I DO have a law degree, and have had one since the early '80s - but I'm not in the mood to make a fool of myself, by professing to ***** up a bunch of crap that I know absolutely NOTHING about - to wit - international law, and international corporate structure​, with an emphasis on the Homeland Security Act.

I'm sure that the puking will continue - along with the irrelevant vitriol directed at a simple post, which was meant to apprise Totem of a financial problem from the United States. ​

​

If the OP wishes for his thread to be closed so that he can just talk to a Team member through customer service or PM's, I can do that for you.

LOL, 91thebasu, I'm taking that as a hint - and will make said request.

Seriously, I love the Totem product, and I ***** that this problem has arisen.

Let it close.​