Deadline Approaching for Comments on Federal Trade Commission's Proposed Ban on Certain Payment Methods in Telemarketing Sales

On July 9, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking that would ban the use of certain payment methods in telemarketing sales transactions. Specifically, the FTC is proposing to amend its Telemarketing Sales Rule in an effort to prevent the use of certain retail payment methods that it has found appear to perpetuate fraud. The FTC has invited public comment on the proposed amendments, including the amendments' likely costs and benefits to industry members and to consumers, and has also posed a series of specific questions on which it would like input from the public, including questions about legitimate uses of payment methods the amendments would prohibit. Absent special exception from the FTC, comments on the proposed amendments must be received by July 29, 2013.