Interview: Self-proclaimed Paypig reveals why he gave away his money during lockdown

For those of you who are unaware, financial domination (or findom) is a subset of BDSM in which the submissive - sometimes referred to as a paypig or human ATM - willingly gives money and/or complete control of their entire finances to their dominant.

As reported in Vice, findoms are accountants, in a way, the only difference is that their clients derive sexual pleasure from having their money taken, and this is typically done entirely over the internet.

To gain an insight into this unusual fetish, VT recently spoke to a paypig about his findom fixation, and how he was able to explore it even in light of the problems caused by the ongoing pandemic.

James* said that he always had submissive tendencies towards women from an early age, however, it was not until one fateful Twitter scroll that he discovered about findom.

"I saw a cash point meet video on Twitter, and it was like a whole new world had been shown to me, it just felt, unconsciously something I was craving for and was the right fetish for me," he revealed.

"I began looking into [it] a bit more, from reading articles to watching videos on YouTube, [and] I realized the feeling of being humiliated and talked down to by dominant women who happily take my money got me off like nothing else."

Gina Tonic, a domme and journalist, told VT that while money is a motivating factor for findoms, they should be just as motivated by the pleasure they get from dominating people.

"It's a balance of both! I wouldn't do it if there wasn't money involved but at the same time, the ego trip and power trip from having dominance over someone is thrilling," she said.

"It's a kind of joy you can only get from knowing someone would love to swallow your spit, lick your shoes, and then pay you for the pleasure. It's not always sexual but if you're not enjoying it, I don't think you should be a domme."

James began to explore his fetish by getting in touch with a few dommes and sending them "small tributes" to satisfy his needs initially.

"I arranged a Skype session with a particularly attractive financial dominatrix and she was an expert in 'edging' me so I wasn't allowed to [climax] until told.

"She had me continually buy items on her Amazon wishlist and send her money through cashapp until I had spent about £300 ($400). She just laughed as I sent [the money] and then allowed me to have a very expensive happy ending."

As many findoms operate online-only, James said that after a period of not sending tributes he "relapsed" because he had an excess of free time and began to get addicted to the practice.

"I saw a tweet by a Black domme asking for a 'white paypig to rinse', and the power dynamics appealed to me of having a dominant black woman take my money.

"I sent her a tribute and agreed to play spin a wheel game where an amount gets chosen and I had to send. Following the game, I had to send her £100 and it escalated from there."

James explained that he had another session with the domme where she took over control of his laptop.

"She instructed me to send her money while humiliating me and listening to songs like Cardi B's 'WAP' and Beyoncé's 'Run the World'.

"I think I roughly spent £600 in 15 minutes, which is a huge amount for me and I did a get a sense of dread after realizing what I'd done, but it was exhilarating.

"I did actually plead for some of it back afterward but she just said it makes up for the gender wage gap and to stop 'mansplaining' and even suggested I send another £50... Which I did.

"I even had an [ATM] meet with her in London. We actually agreed on a £250 limit, but she entered £50 more which just excited [me], especially when I was in the actual presence of a domme. She withdrew the money, patted it on my head, and walked away."

While there is a risk of paypigs spending beyond their means on their kink, for James, that is all part of the appeal, and he said it is easier to justify sending money to a domme than purchasing an expensive lunch.

"The feeling turns into absolute existential dread when you realize [that] you just sent a huge amount of money for one orgasm but it's weirdly addictive."

"I have had fantasies about handing my entire paycheck to a domme, but I don't think I could do it. I actually bought a clip from a domme of her rinsing a young man of his entire monthly wage.

"I can totally understand when you're in that subspace which is brought by adrenaline and endorphins it's very difficult to say no to a dominant woman."

Hard limits are of the utmost importance in any BDSM relationship and James says that he negotiates these with his dommes prior to entering an arrangement that ensures he always has enough for rent, food, and essentials.

James explained that while lockdown has put a strain on most people's finances, at no point did he consider not exploring his fetish because he had savings from part-time jobs and a student loan.

Findom is a subset of BDSM which incorporates a number of other fetishes including humiliation, and James said that prior to becoming a paypig, he watched female supremacy porn so "findom was a natural progression".

James keeps his fetish for financial domination private, but "my domme does have personal Facebook and Instagram under the agreement that I must pay a pre-arranged amount to keep the sensitive information safe."

Even though James' fetish comes at a huge personal cost, he doesn't believe that he has the personality to become a domme and benefit in that way.

"[It takes] a very specific personality to be a successful domme, which is why you don't see that many male dominants. I've actually heard of stories about men who on go twitter as 'cash masters' but then just end up sending money to female dommes."

There is a specific protocol that paypigs must follow before messaging a domme and James advises sending an initial tribute.

"Find a domme who shares your interest and will have fun and really get involved," he said. "It is about HER, not you. This is so important but is also the hardest step to maintain."

However, not everyone has what it takes to be a good findom and James advises anyone considering the role to be truly authentic as it will help them to attract submissives.

"Get an initial tribute before speaking to a sub as there a lot of timewasters," he added.

On that note, Gina Tonic said the key to being a good findom is being ethical in your practice.

"It's too easy to take advantage of people's kinks to self serve and you hear horror stories about people spending their life savings on doms," she said. "So I think making sure your sub isn't hurting their welfare when tributing is so so important.

"Not too much or too little is key and really delving into what your sub wants from it. Developing a relationship will not just get you more money, but get them off more and make the dominant bond more strong.

"But never forget to make sure they know you're boss and should get whatever you want (and deserve). I think a findom should be dominating in all ways, not just asking for money then blocking when you get it (though some little piggies do want that)."