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| | Card Sharks |
 | | While many ISOs are legitimate—credit card banks and processors couldn’t do business without them—their ranks include a number of shady organizations that pressure merchants into contracts marked by overly high fees and hidden charges. |
 | | Richard Gordon, cheif executive of the card industry consulting firm R.J. Gordon and Co., Los Angeles, says he was being bombarded daily with e-mails offering merchant processing services at a 1.2% “discount” rate—the percentage of the sale, that merchants pay to merchant acquiring banks. |
 | | Merchants wanting to set up Web sites and accept cards online often contact local Internet service providers that advertise “dirt-cheap” rates, she says, adding, “There’s every package under the sun that for $50 will set you up on the Internet. |
| www.internetretailer.com /internet/marketing-conference/90073-card-sharks.html (1345 words) |
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