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Electronic Clearing House Inc., a Los Angeles-based independent sales organization, stopped working with online merchants selling tobacco products more than 18 months ago, says Chuck Harris, ECHO vice president. Last week, Lawrence Wasden, Idaho attorney general, announced ECHO signed a voluntary statement that it is complying with requests from Wasden and the attorneys general of New York and California to stop processing unlawful online tobacco sales (CardLine, 1/2). "Over 18 months ago, ECHO voluntarily stopped conducting business with merchants selling tobacco products via the Internet," Harris says in a statement. "ECHO has signed an agreement with the attorneys general of California, New York and Idaho that formalizes its policy and reinforces its ongoing commitment to ensure it does not inadvertently process remote sales of tobacco products." Earlier, Wasden characterized ECHO as acting responsibly, "and we hope other companies and banks involved in online tobacco sales will follow their lead."
