New York's FAIR Business Practices Act Gives Small Businesses Trapped in Predatory MCA Debt a Powerful New Shield -- and Delancey Street Group Is Ready to Use It
CEO Vinay Metharamani announces free FAIR Act MCA Protection Review as attorney-owned company says landmark consumer protection law redefines the legal landscape for merchants facing aggressive MCA collection tactics
NEW YORK, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Delancey Street Group LLC, a New York-based, attorney-owned business debt settlement company, today issued a statement on the implications of the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices Act ("FAIR Act") for the tens of thousands of small businesses currently burdened by merchant cash advance (MCA) obligations.
Signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 19, 2025, and effective as of February 17, 2026, the FAIR Act represents the most significant update to New York's core consumer protection statute, General Business Law § 349, in over four decades. For the first time, the law empowers the New York Attorney General to pursue enforcement actions against businesses engaged in "unfair" and "abusive" practices — not merely "deceptive" ones — and explicitly extends those protections to businesses and nonprofits, not just individual consumers.
"This law changes everything for small business owners who have been subjected to the kinds of aggressive tactics that define the worst corners of the MCA industry," said Steven Raiser, Esq., co-founder of Delancey Street Group. "Confessions of judgment filed without notice, account freezes that cripple operations overnight, stacking practices that push businesses deeper into debt — these tactics have operated in a regulatory gray zone for years. The FAIR Act eliminates that gray zone. The Attorney General now has the authority to treat these practices as what they are: abusive."
A $20 Billion Industry Under Scrutiny
The merchant cash advance market reached an estimated $19.65 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $26.87 billion by 2030. MCAs provide fast capital to small businesses that often cannot qualify for traditional bank loans — but at a steep cost. Factor rates of 1.3x to 1.5x, daily ACH withdrawals, UCC-1 liens, confessions of judgment, and personal guarantees create a debt structure that many business owners find impossible to escape.
Courts across New York have increasingly scrutinized MCA agreements, with a growing body of case law holding that advances with fixed daily payments, no meaningful reconciliation provisions, and full recourse against the merchant are, in substance, loans subject to state usury laws. The FAIR Act adds a powerful regulatory layer on top of these judicial trends.
On the Front Lines of MCA Debt Relief
"We see the human cost of predatory MCA practices every day," said Vinay Metharamani, CEO and co-founder of Delancey Street Group. "Business owners come to us after they've been stacked into three, four, sometimes five MCAs simultaneously. Their daily withdrawals exceed their revenue. They're facing confessions of judgment they didn't fully understand when they signed. And until now, the legal framework to challenge these practices was fragmented and inconsistent."
Metharamani noted that the FAIR Act's expansion of protections to businesses — not just consumers — is particularly significant for Delancey Street's clients. "The prior law required conduct to be 'consumer-oriented.' That created a loophole that MCA funders exploited: they argued their practices fell outside § 349 because the transactions were business-to-business. That argument is now dead. The legislature explicitly stated that small businesses deserve the same protections as individual consumers."
What Small Business Owners Should Know
Delancey Street Group advises business owners currently struggling with MCA debt to understand the following:
MCA agreements with fixed daily payments and no true reconciliation may be recharacterized as loans, potentially making them subject to New York's criminal usury statute, which caps interest at 25%.
Confessions of judgment filed in New York courts can be challenged, particularly when the merchant was not provided with adequate disclosure or when the underlying agreement is determined to be a loan.
Aggressive collection tactics — including account freezes, stacking, and threats of personal liability — may now constitute "abusive" practices under the FAIR Act, giving the Attorney General enforcement authority that did not previously exist.
Navigating this evolving legal landscape requires a company with a network of attorneys experienced in MCA-specific defense — not general debt settlement.
Delancey Street Launches Free FAIR Act MCA Protection Review
In response to the FAIR Act's passage, Metharamani announced that Delancey Street Group is launching a FAIR Act MCA Protection Review — a no-cost, no-obligation assessment available to any small business owner currently in an MCA agreement. The review, led personally by Metharamani and the company's legal team, evaluates whether a business owner's existing MCA agreements contain provisions that may now be challengeable under the expanded protections of the FAIR Act.
"Most business owners have no idea this law exists, let alone what it means for the MCA agreements they're locked into right now," Metharamani said. "We're making this review available at no cost because we believe every business owner deserves to know where they stand. If your MCA funder is engaging in practices that the FAIR Act now classifies as abusive, you should know about it — and you should know what your options are."
Business owners interested in the FAIR Act MCA Protection Review can request an assessment at delanceystreet.com or by contacting the company directly.
Media Availability
Vinay Metharamani, CEO of Delancey Street Group, is available for interviews and expert commentary on the FAIR Business Practices Act, predatory MCA lending practices, small business debt relief, and the evolving regulatory landscape for alternative business financing. To schedule an interview, contact [email protected].
About Delancey Street Group
Delancey Street Group LLC is an attorney-owned business debt settlement company headquartered in New York City. Co-founded by Vinay Metharamani, Steven Raiser, Maxinder Soni, and Colton Schnall, Delancey Street provides comprehensive MCA debt relief through a legal-first model. Clients are represented by our company and a network of legal counsel for creditor defense, with all legal costs covered by the company. Delancey Street's approach combines negotiation expertise with litigation-ready legal infrastructure, enabling the company to challenge unfair MCA agreements, defend against confessions of judgment, and negotiate settlements that allow business owners to regain control of their finances.
For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit delanceystreet.com or contact [email protected].
SOURCE Delancey Street
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