MATCH (Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants) is a database Mastercard maintains of merchants whose accounts were terminated by an acquirer for specific reasons. It is sometimes called the Terminated Merchant File (TMF).
Acquirers check MATCH when underwriting new applications. A listing doesn't legally bar you from processing, but it makes approval far harder and more restrictive.
How Merchants End Up on MATCH
An acquirer adds a merchant — and often its principals — when it terminates the account for a qualifying reason. Common reason codes include excessive chargebacks, excessive fraud, PCI non-compliance, identity theft, transaction laundering, and bankruptcy or insolvency.
Because owners are listed along with the business, opening a new company does not avoid the record.
How Long a Listing Lasts
Records generally remain for five years and then drop off automatically. Only the acquirer that added the listing can remove it early, typically only if the listing was made in error.
Preventing a MATCH Listing
Terminations rarely come without warning. The protective steps are the same ones that keep any high-risk account healthy:
- Monitor chargeback and fraud ratios weekly, not monthly.
- Respond immediately to any acquirer inquiry or risk review.
- Stay PCI compliant and keep your SAQ current.
- Never process for another business through your account.
- Tell your acquirer before changing products, pricing models, or volume.
Options If You're Already Listed
A small number of acquirers will consider MATCH-listed merchants, usually with larger reserves, lower volume caps, and a clear explanation of what caused the termination and what has changed.
Documented remediation — new fraud tools, a revised refund policy, a clean record at another processor — makes a meaningful difference. Every approval is subject to underwriting.
Key Terms in This Guide
- Acquirer (Acquiring Bank)
- The bank that holds a merchant's account, processes its card transactions, and carries the risk of its chargebacks.
- MATCH List
- Mastercard's database of merchants terminated by acquirers for specific reasons; listings typically last five years.
- PCI DSS
- Security standards every business that accepts cards must follow to protect cardholder data.
- TMF (Terminated Merchant File)
- Another name for the MATCH database.
- Transaction Laundering
- Processing transactions for an undisclosed business through another merchant's account; prohibited by card networks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
In-depth answers to the questions high-risk merchants ask most.
Account Freezes & Terminations
Why processors hold funds or close accounts, what your rights are, and the steps to recover and get processing again.
Getting Approved After a Decline
Why applications get declined, how to diagnose the real reason, and how to rebuild a file that underwriters will approve.
Chargeback Management
The dispute lifecycle, prevention tools like alerts and RDR, and how to win representments with compelling evidence.
Talk to a High-Risk Specialist
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