Qualpay is pleased to announce that it recently reached an agreement with the FTC to resolve a dispute regarding a former Qualpay merchant, known as MOBE. The terms of the agreement will allow Qualpay to continue providing exceptional service and support to its merchants and referral partners.
MOBE was a coaching merchant that was shut down by the FTC in June 2018. Prior to that, MOBE worked with a variety of payment processors, including Qualpay, to facilitate its payment card transactions.
Consistent with its approach in other recent enforcement actions, the FTC focused its investigation not just on the merchant, MOBE, but also on the processors that worked with MOBE. As it has done in other cases, the FTC took the position that the underwriting and monitoring of the MOBE accounts were not sufficiently stringent.
Qualpay respectfully disagrees with the FTC’s characterization of the facts. The narrative presented by the FTC takes many things out of context and fails to mention many other relevant facts, including all the steps Qualpay took to monitor the MOBE accounts and seek additional assurances from them.
The reality is that Qualpay worked hard to ensure that MOBE operated within the parameters established by the card brands. When certain MOBE business lines failed to do so, Qualpay terminated those accounts and prohibited MOBE from using Qualpay to process similar transactions. Had Qualpay determined that MOBE was engaged in unfair or deceptive practices towards consumers, it would have terminated the relationship completely—full stop.
Notwithstanding its disagreements with the FTC on the facts, Qualpay believed that the settlement agreement was preferable to protracted litigation with the federal government. And while that agreement required no monetary payment from Qualpay, the Company took responsibility for compensating dissatisfied MOBE customers through the card brand’s chargeback process. With the continued support of its sponsor bank, Qualpay was able to take on that responsibility while ensuring that its merchants could continue to enjoy the same best-in-class technology and support that defines Qualpay as an organization.
Qualpay has also used the MOBE experience as a learning opportunity to continue enhancing its underwriting and risk-monitoring practices. It remains committed to helping its merchants improve the customer experience and, in doing so, maintain compliance with the law, card brand standards, and Qualpay’s policies.