The MATCH List is a Mastercard-maintained database of merchants and their owners whose merchant accounts have been terminated by an acquiring bank for cause. It is used by acquirers and processors during merchant underwriting to identify applicants with a history of serious processing violations.
Diving Deeper into MATCH List
The MATCH List, which stands for Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants, was developed by Mastercard as a shared risk management tool for the acquiring community. Before its existence, an acquirer that terminated a merchant for fraud or excessive chargebacks had no reliable way to communicate that termination to other acquirers. A bad actor could simply apply to a new processor, obtain a fresh merchant account, and continue the same problematic behavior with no visibility into their history. The MATCH List closed that gap by creating a centralized, network-accessible record of terminated merchants that any participating acquirer can query during underwriting.
The MATCH List operates under formal Mastercard rules. When an acquirer terminates a merchant account for a qualifying reason, they are required to add the merchant to the MATCH List within a defined timeframe. The entry includes the merchant’s business name, address, and principal owner information, meaning that the owners themselves, not just the business entity, are listed. This is a critical detail: a merchant who closes one business and opens another under a different name will still be identified if the same principal is listed on the new application.
There are 14 reason codes that can trigger a MATCH listing, and they vary significantly in severity. Reason Code 4 covers excessive chargebacks, defined as a chargeback-to-transaction ratio exceeding 1% in any single month. Reason Codes 7 and 8 cover fraud, including situations where the merchant was found to have facilitated or participated in fraudulent transactions. Reason Code 9 covers money laundering, one of the most serious listings, and is nearly impossible to overcome with future acquirers. Reason Code 12 covers PCI DSS non-compliance following a data breach. Other codes cover violations such as illegal transactions, collusion, and bankruptcy. The reason code attached to a MATCH listing heavily influences how future acquirers respond to an application from that merchant.
A MATCH listing does not automatically disqualify a merchant from obtaining a new processing account, but it dramatically narrows the field of willing acquirers and changes the terms of any relationship that can be established. Most mainstream acquiring banks will decline a MATCH-listed merchant outright regardless of the reason code. Specialized high-risk processors may be willing to work with MATCH-listed merchants depending on the nature and age of the listing, but will typically impose significantly higher rates, larger reserves, lower volume caps, and more intensive monitoring as a condition of approval.
MATCH records remain on file for five years from the date the entry was added. After five years, the record is automatically purged. Merchants who believe they were listed incorrectly, either because the listing was made in error or because the reason code does not accurately reflect the circumstances of the termination, can request removal through the acquirer that added them. However, the original acquirer is under no obligation to remove an accurate entry, and disputes are difficult to resolve without legal intervention. In cases where a merchant believes the listing was retaliatory or factually wrong, engaging a payments attorney is often the most viable path.
For ISOs and agents, checking the MATCH List before submitting a merchant application is standard practice and in many cases required under their processing agreements. Submitting an application for a MATCH-listed merchant without disclosing the listing to the acquiring bank can jeopardize the ISO’s own relationship with that acquirer and potentially trigger their own contractual penalties. Experienced agents use MATCH screening as part of their standard pre-qualification process, setting expectations with prospective merchants early and directing MATCH-listed applicants to the appropriate high-risk channels rather than wasting time on applications that will be declined.