MATCH list

What is the MATCH list?

MATCH list (Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants) is a Mastercard-operated database of merchants and their principals who have been terminated from card acceptance programs due to excessive

chargebacks

fraud

, or other violations of their merchant agreement.

Acquirers

screen every new applicant against it before approving a

merchant account

The list exists so a terminated merchant can't simply move to another acquirer and continue the same practices that harmed

cardholders

and the

card network

. MATCH replaced the older Terminated Merchant File, and the two names are still used interchangeably across the industry. Visa runs a separate equivalent, the Visa Merchant Screening Service (VMSS), so a termination can surface on either database depending on which acquirer filed it.

A listing follows the people as well as the business. Principals named on the terminated account carry the record into any new venture they apply with, which is why a founder can be declined for a company that has never processed a transaction.

Key facts

Full name: Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants
Also known as: Terminated Merchant File (TMF)
Operated by: Mastercard
Visa equivalent: Visa Merchant Screening Service (VMSS)
Who files an entry: the acquirer that terminated the account, within five days of termination
Listing duration: five years from the date the entry is added
What gets listed: the business and its principals, not just the merchant account
Reason codes: 14 defined codes, one per termination cause

MATCH list reason codes

Each entry carries a reason code that tells the screening acquirer why the account was closed. These are separate from chargeback reason codes.

Code	Reason	What triggers it
01	Account Data Compromise	The merchant allowed unauthorized access to account data
02	Common Point of Purchase	Data stolen at the merchant was used at other merchants
03	Laundering	Transactions processed without a bona fide cardholder
04	Excessive Chargebacks	Chargeback thresholds were breached
05	Excessive Fraud	Fraud-to-sales volume thresholds were breached
06	Currently unused	Reserved
07	Fraud Conviction	An owner was convicted of criminal fraud
08	Mastercard Questionable Merchant Audit Program	The merchant was flagged under that program
09	Bankruptcy, Liquidation, Insolvency	The merchant can't discharge its financial obligations
10	Violation of Standards	Card network rules were breached
11	Merchant Collusion	The merchant took part in collusive fraud
12	PCI DSS Noncompliance	Card data security requirements were not met
13	Illegal Transactions	Illegal goods or services were processed
14	Identity Theft	The business owner's identity is in question

Code 04 is the most common route onto the list.

How it works

Termination. The acquirer closes the merchant account for one of the 14 listed causes.
Filing. The acquirer submits the business and its principals to MATCH within five days, tagged with the reason code.
Screening. Any acquirer running
underwriting
on a new application queries the database first.
Decision. A hit doesn't automatically block the applicant. The screening acquirer reads the reason code and decides: code 04 is sometimes placeable with a
high-risk merchant
provider, while codes tied to fraud conviction or laundering rarely are.
Expiry. The record drops off after five years. Before that, only two removal routes exist: the filing acquirer tells Mastercard the entry was made in error, or the merchant was listed under code 12 and has since achieved
PCI compliance
. Both depend on the filing acquirer agreeing to act, and a second termination restarts the five-year clock.

Merchants aren't notified when they're added. The reliable way to confirm a listing and its reason code is to ask the

payment processor

or acquirer that closed the account.

Why it matters

A MATCH entry surfaces in underwriting at every acquirer that screens the database, so a terminated merchant can't reset its history by changing providers.
Acquirers that do accept a listed merchant offset the risk with higher processing rates, a reserve held against settlement funds, and long-term contracts carrying early termination penalties.
Because principals are listed alongside the business, the record blocks new entities the same owners set up.
The reason code, not the listing itself, determines placeability. A code 04 listing leaves options open with high-risk specialists; a code 03 or 07 listing generally does not.