Small businesses tied to Riverside Payments card-processing contracts would get 60 days to cancel without the $695 early termination fee under a proposed settlement between the Federal Trade Commission, the State of Washington and the company. Riverside, based in Washington, would also pay $600,000, the FTC said in a Nov. 2 release. The deal is a stipulated order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and the FTC’s page does not say a judge has yet signed it.
The people it matters to are owners of small shops, restaurants and service businesses who signed a merchant-processing agreement with Riverside or its equipment-leasing affiliate, Cascade Equipment Leasing, and who have been looking for a way out. Anyone in that position needs to know what the waiver covers, what it does not say and who to contact…