Riverside Payments to Pay $600K Over Small Business Deception Claims
The FTC and Washington state allege the payment processor hid fees and locked small businesses into auto-renewing contracts despite promising risk-free cancellation.
Payment processor Riverside Payments Inc. and its affiliate Cascade Equipment Leasing LLC have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle federal and state allegations that they misled small businesses about the true cost of their services, according to a joint action by the Federal Trade Commission and Washington state.
The complaint alleges that Riverside Payments falsely promised small business owners they would save money by switching payment-processing providers, while concealing key fees and burying auto-renewing contract terms that made it extremely difficult for customers to exit their agreements. The firms also marketed their services with a so-called "risk-free" cancellation offer that regulators contend was anything but.
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The enforcement action targets not only the two corporate entities but also their individual operators, signaling that regulators are holding personal decision-makers accountable alongside the businesses themselves. The $600,000 settlement covers both the FTC complaint and parallel allegations brought under Washington state law.
The case underscores ongoing regulatory scrutiny of the payment-processing industry, where small businesses — often lacking legal resources to parse complex contracts — are considered especially vulnerable to deceptive sales practices. The FTC has increasingly pursued actions in this sector as part of broader efforts to protect small and independent merchants.
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