Merchant

Maryland regulators, in the wake of collection law firm Mann Bracken LLP's closing, mailed letters to 1,400 licensed collection agencies in the state this week, instructing them to help connect debtors with the companies they owe.

Ingenico SA this week added the chairman title to CEO Philippe Lazare’s role at the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker. Jacques Stern, who had been Ingenico’s chairman since 2007, remains a director of the company.

PayPal Inc. may face its most crucial test this year as it seeks to broaden its reach.

An estimated 260 different collection agencies and creditors were named in 396 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets compiled by research firm WebRecon LLC.

Weinstock, Friedman & Friedman P.A. in Baltimore, a large legal collection firm, is reviewing “huge volumes” of former Mann Bracken cases that were dismissed last week by Maryland District Court Chief Judge Ben Clyburn, Sidney S. Friedman, a managing partner at Weinstock, Friedman & Friedman, tells Collections & Credit Risk.

Mobile-payments company Apriva announced this week the launch of the AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services. The move means Apriva resellers, including ISOs, banks and merchant acquirers, now can resell Apriva’s integrated mobile-payment product.

Ingenico SA generated $976.3 million (691.4 million euros) in revenue in 2009, a 5% decrease from $1.03 billion the previous year, according to preliminary financial results the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker released yesterday. Ingenico’s preliminary results do not include net-income figures.

A general approach to marketing for ISOs seeking new clients is more likely to fail than would a campaign that targets specific merchant segments and generates referrals, some observers believe.

Wells Fargo & Co. yesterday reported a fourth-quarter profit of nearly $3 billion, but said chargeoffs also crept higher during the period. Chargeoffs totaled $5.4 billion, or 2.71% of average loans, up from $5.1 billion, or 2.5% of average loans, in the third quarter.

A mortgage broker who allegedly dumped 40 boxes of consumers’ financial records into a public trash bin paid a $35,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection office said today.