Bradley O. Cebeci

Brad represents merchants and payments companies in complex disputes involving reserve holds, billing practices, platform controls, and access to processing. He has recovered tens of millions of dollars in wrongfully withheld funds and frequently resolves reserve and billing disputes at the pre-litigation stage through structured claims and coordinated recovery strategies.

He has more than 20 years of experience representing merchants, acquirers, ISOs, payment facilitators, marketplace platforms, and sales agents in litigation and regulatory matters.

His practice focuses on disputes involving reserve and merchant fund holds, billing practices, residuals, and card brand and regulatory compliance. He directs litigation strategy in matters involving breach of contract, fraud, and unfair competition, and structures claims at the demand stage, advancing unresolved matters into individual actions and class actions where necessary.

Brad develops and litigates class actions challenging systemic billing practices by acquirers and their service providers, including drafting operative complaints and directing those matters in coordination with trial counsel.

He works closely with trial counsel through hearings and trial while maintaining responsibility for legal theories and overall case strategy, and integrates expert witnesses, including payments specialists and forensic accountants, into case development.

His practice emphasizes efficient recovery and risk mitigation, enabling clients to resolve significant disputes without the cost and delay of formal litigation where possible.

He also assists clients in resolving MATCH listings, challenging unsupported reason codes, and restoring access to payment processing in time-sensitive situations.

In addition to litigation, Brad advises payments and e-commerce clients on regulatory risk and compliance, including the FTC Act, ROSCA, TCPA, COPPA, CCPA and CPRA, California’s Automatic Renewal Law and consumer pricing regulations (including California’s “junk fees” law), and Visa and Mastercard rules governing billing practices, continuity programs, risk monitoring, underwriting, and merchant account requirements. He also structures and negotiates commercial agreements, including processing agreements, sales agent agreements, portfolio purchase and BIN transfer agreements, and merchant and sub-merchant agreements.

Brad is admitted to practice in California and its state and federal courts and represents clients nationwide in coordination with local counsel. He is an active member of the Electronic Transactions Association’s Banking and Compliance Committees and the Association of Payment Professionals. Brad earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and is fluent in Spanish.