he National Association of Payment Professionals (NAOPP) kicked off this month its first teleseminar for members. The program is an outgrowth of a member survey completed in June.

A quarter of NAOPP's members participated in the survey; 82.1% of respondents expressed interest in educational offerings through teleseminars and webinars.

The number one topic of interest cited was understanding interchange. Others were ISO registration and regulation, ethics, marketing via the Internet, new types of loyalty programs, and marketing and sales training.

The Aug. 16 teleseminar was led by Paul A. Rianda, an attorney in the payment processing industry. He described how merchant level salespeople (MLSs) run afoul of ISO contract provisions that enable ISOs to terminate residuals. He discussed contract provisions that will help preserve MLS rights as wells as tips for protecting residuals. Approximately 25 members joined the teleseminar, and a question-and-answer session followed the presentation.

Rianda, who represents both ISOs and MLSs in residuals disputes, said in an interview with The Green Sheet that most such conflicts are avoidable. He recommends MLSs have contracts reviewed by an attorney before signing with ISOs. ISOs generally accept 60% to 80% of the provisions Rianda suggests to protect MLSs' residuals streams.

NAOPP has already received a number of member requests to schedule a second teleseminar with Rianda, said the association's Executive Director Vicki M. Daughdrill.

NAOPP is a nonprofit organization working to bridge the gap between MLSs and other segments of the payment processing industry through education. For more information, visit www.naopp.com