it looks more like the bad things are about first data

I hope you are right. From the looks of it, First Data deserves some heat.

Based on the first document you linked to, I'm quite interested in knowing if ccBill and Paycom have already found alternatives or if they're trying to get a TRO on First Data as well.

WG

Here's the latest .. IBill's CEO just told First Data's CEO:

"You wanna waste my time? Okay. I call my lawyer. He's the best lawyer in Miami. He's such a good lawyer, that by tomorrow morning, you gonna be working in Alaska. So dress warm."




:1orglaugh

So the documents say the agreement expired on Sept 15th, but today is the 20th and they're still processing transactions. Did they get in injunction? How are they still processing?

Do they also use First Data?

There was only a small handful of providers for high risk and adult. I'm not sure, hence why I'd like to know if the other IPSP's are using First Data for their acquiring banks or alternatives.

WG

Ibill has been a little choppy but our tech guys have been working very closely with them over the past week and everything will be fine. Our cascading billing checks every 5 minutes and flips to CCBILL when needed. So our business isn't hurt at all right now.

As frustrating as times like these are, jumping to conclusions and spreading false rumors is not only unethical, but at times illegal.

Paycom does not process any transactions through or with First Data or First Financial Bank. We moved several months ago as we, along with all processors and Merchants were told they were getting out of Adult.

Paycom / EPOCH?s banking is stronger now than ever.

Once again, everyone should have a back up; anything can happen.

C

Good stuff Chris :thumbsup
WG

WG: CCBill uses Merrick Bank, a subsidiary of Cardworks. Interestingly Merrick Bank I believe is out of Utah.

Thank you, was just curious to see if the other major processors were in the same boat with First Data.

WG

GFY is great. Ask question, get answer.

Rick has done nothing wrong by posting industry news. These are public documents. They are real, our NY lawyers just confirmed that this is true and there is a hearing tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Queens, NY. Rick, truth, as you know, is an absolute defense.

This is a serious issue for our industry. None of us wants to see another processor fail. It never helps an industry when a major player dies or is killed. Business suffers, always, in my experience.

C

It's nice to get some real info rather than would you hit it threads all day :winkwink:

WG

Nice quote! I wonder how many lawyers get a chance to use the truth. :winkwink:

CCbill has not processed any transactions with First Data for over 2 years.

CCbill's Banking relationships are stronger than they have ever been.

I would like to wish everyone at Ibill good luck during their TRO meeting with the Judge on Wed.

Remember a loss of a processor in this industry in not a good thing.


Ron Cadwell
CEO
CCbill.com
Cavecreek.com
Drmnetworks.com

We second that emotion.

C

Thanks Ron and Chris for the clarifications, much appreciated.
WG

Talking smack out your ass looks real professional too. Rick offered up the proof making the rest of your true believers look like chumps. I remember Globill on here telling people not to be alarmed everything was ok too.

Interesting.

I'd be interested in learning why, if ibill got the same warning, they didn't move months ago.

Where can I get a good spray on tan?

Here is an interesting article I found regarding I-Bill...

Enjoy...
--=Chipmunk=--

IBill, First Data in Contract Dispute
By Gretchen Gallen
Tuesday, September 21, 2004


NEW YORK ? Third-party payment processor iBill filed a complaint against First Data Merchant Services Corp. alleging that the company is costing iBill $800,000 per day because it failed to make good on the promise to help transition its accounts to another credit card processor after the expiration of a contract dating back to 1998.
In legal documents obtained by XBiz, iBill contends that it could go out of business by as early as next week if the Court does not issue a temporary restraining order against First Data.

In papers filed in New York Supreme Court, iBill alleges that First Data's failure to fulfill its promise to work with the third-party processor as it moved customer accounts over to New York-based Merrick Bank could cause "irreparable harm" to its business and customer base.

IBill has been using First Data Merchant Service and First Bank Financial, collectively known as First Data, as the processor for its credit card receipts for the past six years. IBill's contract with First Data technically expired on Sept. 15.

The plaintiff, iBill, had expected the transition to be completed by Nov. 15, but now claims that First Data reneged on the promise and put iBill and its business process in jeopardy and could possibly result in iBill's closure.

IBill claims that by noon on Sept. 16, the day after its official contract with First Data expired, the credit card processor would no longer process iBill's credit card transactions, leaving iBill in the lurch and unable to continue to service its customer base of more than 4,000 Internet-based clients.

IBill had been in negotiations with Merrick Bank since mid-August to replace First Data as its processor.

IBill is asking for the court's intervention to maintain status quo and "avoid the catastrophic consequences of First Data's threatened action."

"Any termination by defendants would result in immediate, irreparable harm to plaintiff and its customer bases," the complaint said. "Cancellation of its credit card support arrangements would effectively put plaintiff's customers out of business, depriving them of any ability to function. Absent a temporary restraining order, plaintiff and many of its customers may be forced to close their doors."

Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based iBill, which is short for Internet Billing Company Ltd., is one of the leading third-party credit card processors for the online adult industry. The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange.

Nearly 78 percent of iBill?s revenues are from adult entertainment content. In 2003, iBill averaged 1.2 million transactions per month and completed approximately $330 million in gross transactions.

In July, Care Concepts I, Inc. agreed to acquire Media Billing LLC and Internet Billing Co., collectively known as iBill, from Penthouse International for $55 million in an all-stock deal.

Representatives for iBill and First Data could not be reached for comment.

This is as true a statement as they come - EVERYONE should have a backup at all time with easy to switch procesor setup.

We wish IBill the best of luck this week. Stay strong.

Read the first link that was posted. They had worked something out to keep processing with First Data until Nov 15th. First data reneged for whatever reason and left them up shit creek.

hopefully the garbage...

"IBill claims that by noon on Sept. 16, the day after its official contract with First Data expired, the credit card processor would no longer process iBill's credit card transactions, leaving iBill in the lurch and unable to continue to service its customer base of more than 4,000 Internet-based clients. "

If they aren't able to process cards why does nobody see a problem with signups?

Because they got a court order so first data cant turn them off .

Why is First Data so anxious to drop them? Are they losing money because of ibill or something?

I was under the impression that they have a seperate banking setup for EU operations. Do they have a bank for both USA and EU or just the one bank?

I think its different

Stand In processing notice that was posted on the CMI on Thurs when FDR cut them off and until they got the TRO:

Our US processor for iBill Complete (SGS) is currently experiencing issues that are causing standin transactions. We are working with our processor to resolve the issue.

What is Stand-in?
Stand-in is a process by which transactions are initially approved (given the purchase passes our fraud scrub) due to the inability to get the proper response from the bank in a timely manner. This may result from timeout issues or system maintenance by our processor.

<it also results when your acquiring bank shuts you off. They forgot to add that>

What are the potential effects to my business?
The potential drawback of this process is temporary access for consumers because all transactions are initially approved. Once the banking network connection has been restored, the original transaction will be automatically resubmitted for approval (a maximum of 4 times in a 12 hour period). Upon receiving the proper response, the transaction information will be moved to CMI.

As an iBill client, do I have the option of disabling this feature?
Subscription accounts have the ability to disable stand-in processing. Catalog transactions, however, do not utilize stand-in processing. Please e-mail your master and sub account numbers to [email protected] if you would like this feature to be disabled.

You are the kind of guy who does his homework, aren't you? Admit it.

Awesome, I haven't made it to the 2nd link which I'm guessing is the TRO. So did they get all those transactions through that were on hold?

They wouldn't want to worry their customers now would they.
WG

Why is Visa USA not involved in this???

Afterall, we did submit the url's, got " inspected" and approved, and paid a fee that was in big part going to Visa.

I hope they pull it thru, because they were really improving... and with so few processors left, it becomes scary....

:2 cents:

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are processing just fine. I can't comment beyond that for obvious reasons. However, later this week when I am in a position to share more, I will.

Mark

this explains why every day since the 16th has been massive joins

Thanks Mark for checking in :)

Good luck tomorrow.