Law and Regulation

Seeking to contrast the merchant-acquiring industry’s actual practices with the impression created by the government’s Operation Choke Point that acquirers turn a blind eye to shady merchants, the industry’s leading trade group on Monday said its members last year discharged more than 10,000 merchants for fraud. That statistic comes from …

Like their brethren in Colorado, the new marijuana stores in the state of Washington will be operating mostly on a cash basis, but operators hope that the federal government eventually will remove obstacles preventing them from getting payment card merchant accounts and business checking accounts. On Monday, the Washington State …

The U.S. Department of Justice’s controversial Operation Choke Point, an effort to cut off high-risk merchants’ access to electronic payments by challenging the banks and processors that serve them, continues to draw fire. The latest missile comes in the form of a bill from U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., who …

Merchants that elected not to take a share of the $5.7 billion settlement to resolve a massive credit card interchange case against Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and some banks will be given a chance to opt back into a share of the damages under a plan being crafted by lawyers. …

Two MasterCard Inc. rules governing fee changes and disclosures may catch many in the payment industry unaware even though the rules first became known in December. That is the assessment of attorneys Howard Herndon and Josh Rosenblatt at Frost Brown Todd LLC, a Nashville, Tenn.-based firm. “Typically, acquiring banks and …

Operation Choke Point, a U.S. Department of Justice effort to shut down fraudulent merchants by going after payment companies that provide network access, shows no signs of going away any time soon, despite growing merchant and processor frustration with the initiative. Earlier this month, that frustration gave rise to a …

One of the most unusual auctions ever is scheduled for Friday, but the event is largely shrouded in mystery. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern and continuing for 12 hours, the U.S. Marshals Service will take sealed online bids for 29,657 Bitcoins that the FBI seized in its bust last October …

The parent company of major prepaid card issuer The Bancorp Bank on Wednesday disclosed that the bank had entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that places restrictions on its dealings with independent sales organizations. The order also prevents the bank in some instances from issuing …

Arguing that a federal appeals court “disregarded the plain letter of the statute,” a group of merchants and merchant associations is preparing a request to the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case in which it is battling to overturn the Federal Reserve Board’s interpretation of the Durbin Amendment’s debit …

A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging anti-competitive behavior by American Express Co. can proceed, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled Wednesday. Seventeen states also are plaintiffs in the case. n The case is important because of the government’s continuing inquiry …