Merchant

Some payments organizations want the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to clarify aspects of a law that takes effect next January requiring acquirers to report merchant credit and debit card transactions to the IRS, and they want penalty fees mitigated in the early stages of enforcement, according to comments submitted to the government agencies.

Not all marketing tactics merchant-service providers use are equally effective at piquing merchants’ interest, some observers note. Independent sales organizations often go through multiple marketing techniques to determine which ones are less effective.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. debt buyer, announced this afternoon a "mutually agreeable resolution" to a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former executive.

A former clerk at Pioneer Collection Agency received three years probation today for stealing a $20,000 check intended for the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

CompuCredit Corp., an Atlanta financial services company, will close four collection call centers by March 31. An estimated 740 employees - mostly collectors - will lose their jobs as a result.

A home mortgage lender that previously settled Federal Trade Commission charges of discriminatory lending will have to hire an outside consultant to make sure it does not illegally charge higher prices to African-American and Hispanic consumers, according to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The general public has long held a belief that the collection industry is recession-proof. In 2009, if not before, that belief may have been proven wrong once and for all as most industry leading companies reported declining profits and liquidations and rising impairment charges.

Merchants that sell needs-based products, such as food, building materials or vehicle-repair supplies, have experienced less decline in transaction volumes during the recession than have merchants that sell less-necessary goods, such as luxury or entertainment items, observers note.

Veterans whose tax refunds and benefits were withheld by the U.S. government will be repaid $7.4 million under settlement terms of a class-action lawsuit that questioned the government’s collection tactics. A total of 6,715 veterans will receive approximately $10,000 each. A federal judge in San Francisco approved the settlement.

The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in more than six years during the fourth quarter as businesses made less-aggressive cuts to inventories and stepped up spending, according to a report today by the Commerce Department.