Payments law and how to stay on the right side of it with Edward Marshall and Theresa Kananen

Payments revenue is advantageous to software platforms because they can earn basis points on every transaction that flows through the platform. But the risk exposure is asymmetric. It’s not limited to the revenue the platform earned. A legal misstep or regulatory violation can risk the entire amount processed plus fines – a total that can be orders of magnitude larger than the platform’s payments revenue.

To help us navigate the legal and regulatory landscape, Payments attorneys Edward Marshall and Theresa Kananen joined host Joshua Silver to explain why payments is so heavily legislated and regulated, common pitfalls, and the best way to navigate challenging situations.

They discussed:

• Why software platforms might be held responsible for a merchant’s actions even if they don’t touch the money directly
• One dangerous assumption software companies should never make about payments
• Who actually owns your merchant and transaction data if the contract doesn’t specify
• Why states are setting the rules on pricing, subscriptions, and cancellations
• An obscure 1989 law that can turn an accurate statement on a merchant application into a legal and financial nightmare

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