Riverside Payments to Pay $600K Over Small Business Deception Claims
The FTC and Washington state allege Riverside Payments hid fees and locked small businesses into auto-renewing contracts despite 'risk-free' cancellation promises.
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 the companies systematically misled small businesses about the true cost and cancellation terms of their payment-processing services, regulators announced.
The Federal Trade Commission, acting alongside Washington state authorities, alleged that Riverside Payments falsely promised small business owners they would save money by switching to its processing services. According to the complaint, the firm failed to fully disclose fees and buried auto-renewing contract terms that made it extremely difficult for merchants to exit their agreements — even as the company marketed a so-called "risk-free" cancellation option.
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Cascade Equipment Leasing LLC, a Riverside affiliate named in the same action, was also cited in the enforcement proceeding. The joint action by the FTC and Washington state signals continued regulatory focus on payment-processing companies that target small and independent business operators, a segment regulators have identified as particularly vulnerable to opaque contract practices.
The $600,000 resolution covers both the FTC and Washington state claims against Riverside Payments, its affiliate, and their operators. Regulators did not detail how settlement funds would be distributed, but enforcement actions of this type typically include provisions for consumer redress alongside civil penalties.
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