FTC Targets B2B Payment Processors Over Deceptive Trade Practices

Key Takeaways

• FTC enforcement extends to B2B transactions. Recent lawsuits against payment processors demonstrate that companies serving businesses face unfair and deceptive trade practices scrutiny.
• Payment processors face increased compliance exposure. FTC’s actions against Toast and Riverside Payments target allegedly misleading sales claims, undisclosed fees, and restrictive cancellation practices.
• B2B companies should reassess commercial practices. Businesses should review pricing disclosures, contract terms, customer enrollment, and cancellation procedures to reduce regulatory and financial risk.

FTC Enforcement of B2B Deceptive Trade Practices

Every state in the nation prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Act does the same at the federal level. While it is generally accepted that consumer deception is illegal, there is an equally prevalent misconception that laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive trade practices apply only in a business-to-consumer (“B2C”) context and not in a business-to-business (“B2B”) context.

While some laws certainly are consumer-specific, laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive trade practices are not always so circumscribed. In fact, the FTC Act does not define “consumer” at all. A pair of recent complaints brought by the FTC and a coalition of state attorneys general against payment processors Toast and Riverside Payments highlights the fact that B2B conduct is fair game for enforcement actions under state and federal law.

FTC Sues Toast Over Allegedly Hidden Fees and Subscription Practices

On October 29, 2026, the FTC; the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Utah; and Los Angeles County, California, sued Toast, Inc. and Toast Processing Services, LLC, among others, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint alleges that Toast:

• sold its services to restaurants with the promise of 24/7/365 support that, in practice, was rarely available;
• charged the restaurants’ customers processing fees that the restaurants did not approve and that Toast alone retained;
• auto-enrolled its customers in services and charged subscription fees without the customers’ consent; and
• made cancellation difficult.

The complaint contains 21 claims under the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (“ROSCA”), the FTC Act, and the laws of the individual plaintiff states.

FTC Targets Riverside Payments Over B2B Contract and Cancellation Practices

On November 2, 2026, the FTC brought another B2B case, this time against Riverside Payments, Inc., filing suit alongside the State of Washington in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. This complaint alleges that Riverside and its co-defendant Cascade Leasing deceived small businesses into signing up for payment processing by misrepresenting that enrollment was risk-free and easily terminated when, in fact, the arrangement carried a $695 early termination fee, a three-year contract, and a non-cancelable equipment lease with Cascade for the point-of-sale terminals. In addition to asserting deceptive trade practice claims, this complaint alleges violations of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”) based on the alleged misuse of merchants’ bank account credentials.

Along with the complaint, the FTC filed a proposed stipulated order under which defendants would make permanent changes to their business operations and pay $600,000, with the balance of a judgment exceeding $32 million suspended. The court has not yet entered the order.

What FTC B2B Enforcement Means for Payment Processors and Other Businesses

FTC has focused increasingly on the payment processing industry over the last decade. While its earlier cases centered on whether processors had provided substantial assistance to merchants who allegedly harmed individual consumers, these new cases continue a trend in which the FTC has pivoted to protecting merchants themselves as consumers of processors’ services. Industries that have traditionally operated in the B2B space are now being examined under the same microscope as those that operate in the B2C space. Companies that sell to other businesses should review their marketing claims, fee disclosures, and enrollment and cancellation practices with the same care they would apply to consumer-facing offerings.

For assistance with these issues, please contact AGG Payment Systems & Fintech co-chair Theresa Kananen.