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UK’s Food Standards Agency Offers Concrete Guidance on CBD

In January 2019, the European Commission confirmed that CBD is considered a “novel food” in the EU.  A “novel food” is defined as “food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997.” Why is this important? Because “novel foods” must be authorized by the European… read more

Post Date: Posted on February 19, 2020April 16, 2020 Post Categories: CBD International Laws, CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk

FDA Cracks Down on CBD Merchants

Last week, the FDA took off the gloves in its fight against illicit CBD products. The agency updated its consumer advisory on CBD to warn of possible negative side effects and issued 15 warning letters to CBD companies – which is more CBD-related warning letters than the FDA has issued in the past three years…. read more

Post Date: Posted on December 3, 2019April 16, 2020 Post Categories: CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, FDA Warning Letters

Why Frictionless Merchant Onboarding is Irresistible

By: Dan Frechtling, President, Verisk Financial | G2  Last week I was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, speaking on a panel at the Mastercard GRL Cybersecurity & Risk Summit. The topic was frictionless merchant onboarding, which employs digital information capture and automated tools in place of paper forms and manual review of traditional merchant applications. It is… read more

Post Date: Posted on October 9, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Merchant Boarding, Merchant Onboarding, Merchant Underwriting

CBD Laws: An International Update

The legal status of CBD changes almost weekly. At G2, we track it closely and keep our clients up to speed. Check out this sampling of CBD laws in G2-monitored countries. Don’t blink, though, because it just might change. For a more thorough assessment of CBD’s legal status, please download Chronic Uncertainty: The International Legal… read more

Post Date: Posted on August 14, 2019June 11, 2021 Post Categories: CBD International Laws, CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, Merchant Boarding

Merchants Who Market CBD with Health Claims Face Regulatory Scrutiny

The FDA appears to be taking a three-pronged approach towards regulating CBD merchants. The agency is: (1) investigating the safety and effectiveness of CBD; (2) examining potential regulatory pathways for the lawful marketing of CBD products; and (3) actively cracking down on CBD products that are marketed with impermissible claims to treat health conditions.  … read more

Post Date: Posted on July 26, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, FDA Warning Letters, Problematic Health Claims

Regulators Target Transaction Laundering Operations

With the continued growth of e-commerce, transaction laundering – a scheme in which an entity hides transactions for illicit goods and services through the use of a seemingly-unrelated merchant account – is on the rise. The payments industry has been aware of transaction laundering for years, and G2 (via our Transaction Laundering Detection Solution) has… read more

Post Date: Posted on June 27, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Fraudulent Credit Card Processing, Merchant Boarding, Transaction Laundering

Merchant Risk and Weight Loss Scams

Weight loss scams come in all sorts of shapes and sizes – pun intended! In addition to causing consumer harm, these boondoggles lead to chargebacks, regulatory scrutiny, and brand-damaging publicity. Here at G2, we keep an eye out for all types of merchant risk, including the following: Misleading Claims The FTC warns third parties to… read more

Post Date: Posted on June 20, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Merchant Risk, Misleading Business Models, Misleading Marketing Claims, Negative Option Marketing

Transaction Laundering and Negative Option Scams

The war against transaction laundering continues! The latest battle involves “negative option” sales, where a seller treats a consumer’s silence (that is, their failure to reject an offer) as consent to be charged for goods and services. See 16 C.F.R. § 310.2(w). Where a seller fails to meet federally-mandated disclosure, consent, and cancellation requirements, negative… read more

Post Date: Posted on June 12, 2019February 14, 2020 Post Categories: Merchant Risk, Negative Option Marketing, Transaction Laundering

FDA’s Public Hearing on CBD

The US CBD market (which is projected to hit $16 billion by 2025) currently operates without significant federal oversight. Indeed, some describe the industry as the “wild west”—a regulatory-free zone that puts consumer safety at risk. On Friday, the FDA grasped the regulatory reins: the agency held a nearly 10-hour public hearing on cannabis-derived products…. read more

Post Date: Posted on June 3, 2019February 21, 2020 Post Categories: CBD International Laws, CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, FDA, FDA Warning Letters

3 High-Risk Ecommerce Markets to Keep Tabs On

As new high-risk merchants establish a presence in ecommerce, weak points in the payments system are exposed Last week, Dan Frechtling, president at Verisk Financial G2 discussed the growing presence of three high-risk ecommerce markets during a panel discussion at the annual ETA TRANSACT conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adult-oriented websites, online pharmacies, and virtual… read more

Post Date: Posted on May 9, 2019April 22, 2021 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Merchant Fraud