As a veteran in the merchant account field with over 10 years experience, I have yet to see one "opting out" program that any given merchant truly needs. While benefit can be derived from any initiative, it should be up to the merchant to decide whether to enroll; inaction by the merchant should not constitute agreement of the new program's terms.

Perhaps I should not assume that you know what I mean by opting out programs. In this context, it simply means that a vendor is introducing a new program or resource, and it's the customer's responsibility to contact the vendor if he/she does not wish to particupate. Should the customer not respond and explicitly decline the "invitation to enroll," he/she will be enrolled automatically and billed a new fee.

It's easy to see how such a system is completely favorable to a company that implements it. Indeed, an opting out program can result in a financial windfall for that company ... at the expense of customers. Many folks do not read business-related letters in their entirety. As such, customers may not even know about a new program and thus won't know to call or write to cancel its impending terms. Others may be aware about the new initiative but don't understand that they have to take action to avoid incurring an additional cost. Still other folks plan to contact the vendor to ensure that they're not enrolled but may forget to do so. (There is always a deadline to cancel an opting out program, and in order to avoid at least that first charge, folks have to respond by that date.)

Recently, even I was affected by an opting out program. One of our merchant account parent companies (who we no longer use) instituted an opting out program. Fortunately, we don't have many customers in that portfolio, but now I feel it's my duty to tell them that they have to contact this provider directly if they're not interested in enrolling. I've called four merchants thus far, and three did not even know about the opting out program's existence. Needless to say, they were grateful that I reached out to them.

I'm truly miffed that this provider has taken this action. It's completely unfair, if not unethical, to institute an initiative where it becomes the merchant's responsibility to opt out. While I understand the provider wants to share information about a new program, the assumption should be that if any given merchant is interested in it, he/she will reach out to the provider. Failure to touch base with the provider and actively decline the offer does not mean the merchant is interested in program enrollment.

In order to avoid incurring an unnecessary expense, read all information the provider sends you. While you may think it is just junk mail, it can have an adverse affect on your wallet should you just throw it out. Moreover, read all verbiage on your merchant account statements, including the small print. You really have to become an educated and enlightened consumer.

While I've heard by merchant account insiders that an opting out program is an acceptable business practice, it's unacceptable to me and to the merchants that I've spoken with about this issue. There is a certain amount of fairness and integrity one should expect in all business relationships.