Merchant

Ritz Interactive Inc. says it is using payment-processing technology from Merchant e-Solutions Inc. to support its more than 18 Web sites, which include RitzCamera.com and Wolf Camera.com. Ritz began using the service a few months ago but only recently made the deal public.

Though merger-and-acquisition activity has been fairly quiet in the past 18 months, activity began to pick up in the fourth quarter of 2009, says Ray Sobczyk, a senior associate and strategic acquisitions expert at the Strawhecker Group consultancy who helps merchant-portfolio buyers and sellers make deals. And the activity is expected to continue this year.

A sales agent presents a proposition to move a portfolio of merchants from one ISO to another. While it sounds like a good deal for the ISO that receives the portfolio, it might not be. The ISO that accepts the merchant portfolio could be sued, even if it has not signed a written contract agreeing not to move the merchants in question.

Merchants always are interested in the cost of payment card processing, but sales agents should evaluate the importance of price when listening to merchants about their needs, observers say.

Processors, not ISOs, likely will handle many provisions of a law that takes effect next January requiring acquirers to report merchant credit and debit card transactions to the Internal Revenue Service, says Henry Helgeson, co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse Inc., a Boston-based ISO.

With chargeoffs historically high, debt volumes up and liquidation rates down, choosing whether to invest in technology or stand pat has taken on grave importance.

Asset Acquisition Group LLC, a debt buyer in Denver, purchased a $240 million loan portfolio from a large national bank. It is one of the largest purchases for the company since it opened in 1992, according to Donna J. Meier, president and chief executive, who added that the deal is part of an "amplified acquisition plan for 2010."

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. debt buyer, today reported cash collections rose 20% to a record $95.3 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, up from $79.2 million in the year-ago period.

The credit crisis is creating new opportunities for collection shops to play a larger role in the success of a company. It also creates an imperative for management to foster excellence.

For the third consecutive month, the Credit Manager's Index is signaling that the recession is over and the economy is expanding, according to a report by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM).