With regard to antitrust risks present in membership and industry self-regulation, membership policies should avoid:

1. Restrictions on dealing with non-members.
2. Exclusions from membership, especially if there is a business advantage in being a member.
3. Limitations on access to association information, unless the limitation is based upon protection of trade secrets.

Industry self-regulation and codes of ethics should avoid:

1. Requiring refusal to deal with any member violating the association’s code of ethics.
2. Arbitrary enforcement of the code.
3. Unreasonably severe penalties for violation of the code.
4. Regulations or policies which have price-fixing implications, such as preventing the advertising of prices.

Without being alarmist, trade associations should bear in mind that they are targets for government antitrust enforcers and private treble damage suits. By conducting their business openly and avoiding even the appearance that they are engaging in activity which might be seen to have an effect on prices or competition, trade associations can protect themselves from charges of antitrust violations.

ETA’s membership spans the breadth of the payments industry to include independent sales organizations (ISOs), payments networks, financial institutions, transaction processors, mobile payments products and services, payments technologies, and software providers (ISV) and hardware suppliers.