Digital Transactions Quotes Manatt Partner on Regulators' ISO Focus

"ISOs Enter the Age of Regulation"
Digital Transactions

September 2013 - Digital Transactions quoted Manatt's Barrie VanBrackle, co-chair of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Practice, on regulators' new focus on independent sales organizations.

Digital Transactions reports that ISOs historically have been subject only to the rules of the bank card networks and the (voluntary) standards set by the Electronic Transactions Association. However, this summer the Federal Trade Commission filed complaints against three ISOs and their affiliates, alleging violations of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule in two cases and deceptive and misleading sales practices in the third.

"With the FTC's increased scrutiny of the acquiring industry, ISOs will have to put more effort into monitoring their merchants," said VanBrackle.

But even with stepped-up monitoring, ISOs are "not going to catch everything," she said, noting that a large ISO can sign up to 10,000 merchants a day. And an ISO can be following standard industry practice and still unintentionally violate FTC regulations.

Read the article here.