Can Merchants Survive Life After the MATCH List

May 3, 2023 | Payments

Finding a merchant account on the MATCH List can be a challenge. The good news is that ACH options and payment processing companies can help merchants overcome the situation.

High-risk merchant accounts, for example, provide a tailored solution for companies needs. In addition, experienced payment processing companies can guide you in getting off the MATCH List and obtaining a new merchant account.

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What is the MATCH list Mastercard?

In simple terms, the MATCH (Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants) record compiles information on companies and their owners, including terminated merchant accounts. Mastercard combined the MATCH list with the TMF listing (Terminated Merchant File), making the lists interchangeable.

The list helps to acquire banks to screen applicants, allowing them to determine whether businesses should receive credit card payment processing privileges. Merchants added to the MATCH list are perceived as high-risk business ventures and might need help applying for new merchant accounts.

What is TMF?

Terminated Merchant File (TMF) identifies blacklisted companies, predating the MATCH list. Therefore, TMF list removal is as crucial as MATCH list removal. Good news, though – you no longer have to worry about getting off the TMF list since the more comprehensive MATCH list replaced it.

Reasons Business Owners Have Been Added to the MATCH List

Chargebacks are the most common reason for retailers landing on the MATCH list. As a result, merchants exceeding the chargeback thresholds will likely see their companies appear on the MATCH list, resulting in a frozen merchant account and, eventually, a canceled one.

According to the Mastercard Security Rules and Techniques, acquirers dealing with the merchants can add them to the MATCH list if they suspect the earlier-mentioned conditions have occurred. Acquirers must abide by the MATCH system requirements reliably, reasonably, and in good faith when updating the MATCH list. However, the listing depends on the acquirer’s discretion and lacks checks and balances.

How Can High-Risk Merchants Search MATCH List and Get Off The List?

You can search the Mastercard MATCH reason codes to discover why your merchant account lost payment processing if you suspect it’s because of any of these codes. The Mastercard MATCH list can’t be searched by anyone unauthorized by Mastercard to do so, but there’s a way around it.

Acquirers searching the MATCH list Mastercard can access information within the previous five years. In addition, any merchant added to the list during that period generates a MATCH list outcome. After five years, however, the merchant’s information is removed from the list and is no longer accessible to acquirers.