Merchant Accounts

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Merchant Accounts: MATCH or TMF

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What is CVV or CVC and how it can help reduce chargebacks and fraud on your merchant account.

When consumers do not honor the terms of their credit agreements, the creditor may report the default to a credit reporting agency. The merchant account providers have a similar credit-reporting agency that documents information about the way that a business handles its merchant account processing responsibilities. The card associations, instead, use a file known as "MATCH" or sometimes referred to as the Terminated Merchant File. 

The MATCH File is a database file, previously and most commonly known as the Terminated Merchant File "TMF." It is maintained by MasterCard International and is the way by which MasterCard and Visa acquiring banks identify merchants, and the principals, which have been terminated for specific reasons.

When applying for a New Merchant Account.

Your new merchant account provider is required to query the MATCH file to determine whether your company, or its principals, has been terminated by any merchant service provider in the past.  If the new merchant solution provider receives a response indicating a "possible match" against a merchant or individual listed on the file, the merchant service provider must double check and make certain the listed merchant or individual is truly the same as the one for which the inquiry was generated. If so, the merchant account provider must contact the listing merchant service provider to determine why the business or individual was added to the file. 

If a previous merchant account provider listed your business or your name, that does not mean you are prohibited from obtaining merchant credit card processing privileges in the future. The new acquirer is to base its approval decision on complete investigation and to use the MATCH file as an informational tool in the decision making process. Some merchant service providers will issue an approval conditioned upon having the listing removed by the prior processor while others will review the circumstances surrounding the listing and make an informed decision.

If your Merchant Account is terminated or listed on MATCH.

We advise you to carefully read your merchant account processing agreement and understand the circumstances under which your processing privileges may be terminated; in some instances immediately.  When your merchant provider notifies you of intent to terminate your merchant account, they are required to list your business and principal names on the terminated "MATCH" file. There are eight instances in which that listing is required on the same day as the notification: 
  • The merchant has been convicted of credit card fraud 
  • The merchant deposited sales that were not authorized by cardholders; most typically in a card not present environment with reoccurring charges. 
  • The merchant deposited transaction that were for sales generated by another business (known as laundering.) Oftentimes, this seems like an innocent practice of one business owner helping another; it is a violation of Visa and MasterCard rules.
  • The acquirer has received an excessive number of cardholder chargebacks due to the merchant’s practices. This is by far the most common reason for termination. 
  • As a result of an audit or investigation, the acquirer identifies the merchant as having excessive fraudulent activity. 
  • The acquirer concludes that serious violations of the merchant agreement could result in increased loss exposure to itself or the credit card community. 
  • The merchant deposited an excessive number of counterfeit sales. 
  • The acquirer learns from Visa USA or MasterCard International that the merchant has been identified as having excessive fraudulent activity. 

The acquirer listing will include the business name as well as the name and identification of the business principals. If the termination was for reasons other than the eight listed above, the acquirer has until the next day to add the merchant and principal to the listing.

Requesting your merchant account listing change or deletion from MATCH

If you believe your business or name has been erroneously added to the MATCH file, you must work with the acquirer that added the listing to the file. Only that acquirer is authorized to request a change or deletion of the information. 

If your counsel is unfamiliar with the credit card industry or Visa and MasterCard associations, you may want to consider consulting with a firm specializing in this issue.

If the listing acquirer recognizes that the listing was in error, that acquirer must request the file correction immediately upon recognition of the error. Obvious examples would include the wrong business and principal names but could also include termination for reasons that would not warrant a public listing (e.g.. inactivity, etc.) An error does not include an unresolved dispute over the definition of "excessive chargebacks" and other violations. 

To request a change or deletion, the listing bank submits its request to MasterCard International, in Purchase New York. The designated individual at MasterCard will review the merchant’s explanation and listing bank’s justification for change or removal from the listing. MasterCard International reserves the right to deny the request. The listing bank must sincerely explain its reason for the deletion. 

Merchant Accounts that are terminated due to breach of contract are normally listed on the Terminated Merchant File!

Compare and review multiple merchant accounts side-by-side to insure that your business has the lowest credit card processing costs available. Each merchant account provider is not able to see what the other merchant service providers are offering, so they are truly competing for merchant accounts competitively. There is no need to login and wait for offers. We will automatically email you each time you receive an offer. Once you get the email you can simply login, view merchant account offer details and compare online. No phone calls from commission based salespeople.

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