Merchant

News last week that North American Bancard has hired a financial advisor to help sort out its future and that Merchant Data Systems Inc. has purchased a 1,300-merchant ISO potentially is signalling a resurgence in mergersand acquisitions among portfolio buyers and sellers. It also signals further consolidation in the ISO and merchant-acquiring industry.

Automated clearinghouse transaction processor ACH Federal LLC is introducing a merchant-referral partner program for ISOs in the hopes of expanding its client base, according to the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today filed four lawsuits against seven debt settlement firms, alleging they are misrepresenting the services they provide to consumers and the impact those services will have on credit ratings. Six executives with the companies also are named as defendants.

Legislation set to be introduced in Minnesota later this month would ban the practice known as "re-aging" delinquent accounts, making it more difficult for debt buyers to collect debts - particularly in cases where the amounts owed cannot be verified.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule that would ban companies that promote foreclosure and mortgage modification programs from charging upfront fees. Instead, such companies would only collect payments after providing services.

A majority of UK consumers hold retailers primarily responsible for making online transactions safer, and fraud risk remains a top concern for many UK shoppers when making online purchases, according to data released today from CyberSource Ltd., a UK-based subsidiary of CyberSource Corp.

President Collect Service Corp., a Taiwan-based courier service, plans to use approximately 1,600 VeriFone Vx670 wireless payment terminals to collect home-delivery payments, VeriFone Holdings Inc. announced today. Many Taiwanese dislike submitting their payment card information for online or television shopping until the products are delivered, San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone says.

Debt buyer Asta Funding Inc. today reported a net income of $2.5 million for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a net loss of $7.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The company, based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., buys unpaid consumer and credit card loans and tries to collect them.

Three leaders of a Western New York collections operation under investigation for illegal collection practices, including impersonating law enforcement, have been banned from future involvement in the industry, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office said today.

Encore Capital Group Inc. today reported fourth-quarter net income of $8.4 million compared to a net loss of $2.1 million in the same period a year ago. For the full year 2009, the company reported net income of $33 million, up from $13.8 million in 2008.