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Attorney(s)
to the Rescue
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A The Law Office of
Anthony L. Ogden has concentrated on legal dilemmas associated with
merchant processing for the past six years. Ogden says he has developed
his practice to benefit ISOs and merchants and he tells us the need is so
great that he recently joined forces with Texas Attorney Tony Osei, his
former law school roommate from Georgetown University. Osei and
California-based Ogden have titled their expanded practice “Bank Card
Law.” The pair of legal eagles is preparing to launch a new Web site for
the financial services industry. The new Web address will be www.bankcardlaw.com
and should be operative later this month. For now, you can visit the Web
site at www.merchantcreditcardlaw.com.
The current Web site has
useful general information and a secure input form for the Web site
visitor to submit inquiries for response from Bank Card Law. “We want
accessibility,” Ogden said. “We want the players in the industry to
have access to information and services that they presently do not. One of
the best ways to do this is through our new Web site.” Ogden said the site will
subsume everything from his previous Web site, www.merchantcreditcardlaw.com,
but will offer more choices of card industry information, resources, and
links to services for the Web site visitor. As Ogden sees it,
merchant accounts held at acquiring banks for processing credit card
transactions are a valuable resource for the merchants, banks, and the
ISOs/MSPs who set up these accounts. Anything that disrupts the ability of
merchants, ISOs/MSPs, and banks to smoothly operate these accounts harms
the entire industry. The laws, regulations,
and guidelines which apply to merchant card transactions can often be
obscure, elusive, and ill defined, at best. The result is that merchants,
banks, and ISOs/MSPs, along with the card issuing entities themselves, all
wind up losing valuable income, Ogden says. Bank Card Law provides
legal and consulting services designed to facilitate merchant bankcard
processing. Bank Card Law specializes in arranging cooperative, informal
(out-of-court) resolutions of merchant account problems through
representation of the merchant and employment of a strategic interface
with MasterCard, Visa, acquiring banks, ISOs/MSPs, processors, and
merchants. Emphasis is placed on creating preventative measures to help
the interested parties avoid conflicts, which often result in court
battles. Issues addressed include Acquirer and Merchant loss, account
termination, MATCH listing, fraud, and chargebacks. The goal is to retain
and restore valuable merchant accounts in a dynamic and extremely
competitive industry. “Especially since the advent of e-commerce, there
is a rapidly growing, under-served segment of the acquiring industry,”
Ogden said. Ogden concluded,
“Fragmentation of the industry impedes the progress desired by all. BCL
is in touch with all sectors of the card industry and every player says
they want the same thing—prosperity and reduced risk. But due to
fragmentation, no one comes together to achieve that goal. At Bank Card
Law, we want to be the interface—the hub of the wheel connecting the
fragmented industry spokes, enabling the wheels to turn in the right
direction, and move the industry forward.” For more information
about Bank Card Law, or if you have a financial services industry legal
question, visit the current Web site www.merchantcreditcardlaw.com,
or later in the month visit the new Web site at www.bankcardlaw.com.
Be sure to check your
future Green Sheet issues for our new article series, Bankcard Law,
authored by Tony Ogden and Tony Osei.
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