Riverside Payments to Pay $600K Over Small Business Fee Deception
The FTC and Washington state allege Riverside Payments hid fees and locked small businesses into auto-renewing contracts despite claiming 'risk-free' cancellation.
Payment processor Riverside Payments Inc. and its affiliate Cascade Equipment Leasing LLC have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle federal and state allegations that they systematically misled small businesses about the true costs of their services, according to a joint complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Washington.
The complaint alleges that Riverside Payments falsely promised merchants it would save them money on payment-processing fees while concealing additional charges and auto-renewing contract terms. Despite marketing the service as offering "risk-free" cancellation, the firms allegedly made it extremely difficult for customers to exit their agreements, according to regulators.
Read more MSIG USA Names Andrew Pateyuk Head of Retail and Wholesale Property →
The action targets not only the two corporate entities but also their individual operators, signaling that regulators are holding company leadership directly accountable for the alleged deceptive practices. The FTC has increasingly pursued payment processors and merchant-services companies that regulators say prey on small businesses with complex or misleading contract structures.
Small businesses, which often lack dedicated financial or legal staff to scrutinize vendor agreements, are particularly vulnerable to undisclosed fees and restrictive cancellation clauses in payment-processing contracts. Regulators have used cases like this one to put the broader industry on notice that buried terms and hollow savings promises will draw enforcement scrutiny.
Continue reading at Press Release Feed
