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NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ -
Tacoma, WA, United States, 2013/10/04 - Meracord announced it has reached an agreement with the CFPB to resolve and conclude the agency’s review of the company’s third party account administration services to consumers who contracted with certain debt and mortgage relief service providers.
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Meracord, provider of compliant payment services for 30 years, today announced it has reached an agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to resolve and conclude the agency’s review of the company’s third party account administration services to consumers who contracted with certain debt relief services providers (DRSP) and mortgage assistance relief (MARS) providers. As a part of the settlement, the CFPB and Meracord jointly prepared and filed an agreed consent order with the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington under which Meracord agrees to pay $1,376, 000 in settlement of the investigation. The settlement does not include any findings of wrongdoing or determinations that Meracord violated any law.
The settlement results from an industry-wide investigation into advance fees collected by DSRPs and MARS providers from consumers in violation of what is known as the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), 16 C.F.R § 310, which prohibits the collection of such advance fees. In October 2010 in response to the TSR, Meracord announced it would no longer process payments for service providers collecting advanced fees and in January 2013, Meracord announced its plans to cease offering third party payment processing for any debt relief and MARS service providers. The company then worked to exit these business lines in a timely fashion while attempting to mitigate consumer harm. As planned, Meracord finalized all remaining administrative work and fully exited the business line July 31, 2013. As a part of the settlement, Meracord memorializes its voluntary cessation of any business with DSRPs or MARS providers by agreeing not to engage in future business with such companies.
“We are pleased to have this matter concluded so we can focus our resources on providing compliant payment services in the emerging payments and financial technology space, and to resolve the uncertainties inherent in such a review,” stated Linda Remsberg, President/CEO of Meracord. “Compliance with federal and state regulations and commitment to consumer protection remain our number one priority,” Ms. Remsberg added.
Meracord began offering third party account administration services to consumers of debt relief companies in 2003. In a proactive effort to operate with full regulatory oversight for the benefit of consumers, Meracord successfully pursued registration with the Department of Treasury as a Money Services Business and licenses in each state as a money transmitter.
Processing payments in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia, Meracord provides value by allowing companies to receive, store and disburse funds in a flexible and compliant manner. With its proprietary Application Programming Interface (API) modules, Meracord works with companies’ existing platform providing the ability to create reserve accounts and execute payments and disbursements, through Automated Clearing House (ACH) / Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), credit card, debit card, check, or wire transfer.
About Meracord
In business for over 30 years, Meracord (meracord.com) is a leading provider of compliant and comprehensive payment services. Owned by Linda Remsberg, President/CEO, Meracord specializes in trust account management. Meracord is committed to protect people’s payments by providing compliant payment services.
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klago[.]meracord.com 
