Mastercard SPME §9.4.1 · Jun 2022 → May 2023

Non-face-to-face Adult Content and Services Merchants

breaking

⚠ Extraction warning — review against source PDF. One side of the Mastercard SPME text below appears to contain only the page-running header, not body content. This usually means the section heading fell on a page boundary and the body was attributed to a neighbouring section in the source PDF. The AI summary and proposed edit below may be misleading. Verify in: Jun 2022 · page 95 ↗ · May 2023 · page 103 ↗.

The section defining non-face-to-face adult content transactions and Acquirer obligations to identify these using specific MCC and TCC codes, as well as the requirement for Merchant registration with Mastercard, has been removed entirely.

Sources Mastercard SPME · Jun 2022 · page 95 PDF Mastercard SPME · May 2023 · page 103 PDF Content Moderation current

Also in §9.x this release breaking §9.2.1 Merchant Registration Fees and Noncompliance Assessments substantive §9.3 General Monitoring Requirements substantive §9.4.2 Non–face-to-face Gambling Merchants substantive §9.4.3 Pharmaceutical and Tobacco Product Merchants substantive §9.4.6 High-Risk Cyberlocker Merchants substantive §9.4.7 Recreational Cannabis Merchants (Canada Region Only)

Why these edits? Section 9.4.1 previously imposed obligations on Acquirers to identify non-face-to-face adult content transactions by MCC/TCC and to register such Merchants with Mastercard; the removal of these requirements affects the Content Moderation policy that implements these controls.

Mastercard SPME §9.4.1

This section was substantively restructured between versions (9% text overlap). Compare the texts directly below.

Before · Jun 2022 · page 95

A non-face-to-face adult content and services Transaction occurs when a consumer uses an Account in a Card-not-present environment to purchase adult content or services, which may include but is not limited to subscription website access; streaming video; and videotape and DVD rentals and sales. An Acquirer must identify all non-face-to-face adult content and services Transactions using one of the following MCC and Transaction category code (TCC) combinations, as appropriate:

MCC 5967 (Direct Marketing—Inbound Telemarketing Merchants) and TCC T; or
MCC 7841 (Video Entertainment Rental Stores) and TCC T. Before an Acquirer may process non-face-to-face adult content and services Transactions from a Merchant or Submerchant, it must register the Merchant with Mastercard as described in section 9.2 of this manual.

After · May 2023 · page 103

Security Rules and Procedures—Merchant Edition • 7 February 2023

Halyard Pay · 2 files

Content Moderation · rules.yaml

program: Content Moderation (BRAM)
authority: Mastercard SPME §10.5
prohibited_categories:
  - counterfeit_goods
  - illegal_drugs
  - adult_content_violations
  - intellectual_property_violations
  - gambling_in_restricted_jurisdictions
review_cadence: weekly
human_review_trigger_business_days: 1
confirmed_violation_action: suspend_processing
case_documentation_required: true
agent_owner: content_mod_agent
+ 
+ # Removed specific references to non-face-to-face adult content transaction identification by MCC/TCC and Merchant registration requirements, reflecting Mastercard SPME §9.4.1 update which eliminates these obligations for Acquirers.
+ # Policy focuses on broader content moderation enforcement consistent with active SPME sections.

Content Moderation · policy.md

Content Moderation (BRAM Brand Integrity)

Mastercard's Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) program includes specific

brand-integrity provisions that prohibit acquirers from processing transactions for

merchants engaged in activities that violate Mastercard's acceptable use standards.

Halyard Pay ~~conducts ongoing content monitoring of merchant storefronts~~ monitors merchant storefront content and transaction ¶ data to identify ~~and remediate~~ prohibited ~~content.~~

content, including adult content, and takes action to enforce compliance.

Prohibited categories

Merchants found to be selling or facilitating counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, adult

content that violates applicable law, goods or services that infringe intellectual

property rights, or gambling services in jurisdictions where such services are

restricted are subject to immediate review and, ~~where~~ and if confirmed, merchant suspension.

Required actions

Review merchant storefront content on a weekly cadence using automated scanning

combined with periodic manual sampling.

Flag any merchant whose content matches a prohibited category for human review

within one business day.

Suspend the merchant's processing privileges pending investigation if prohibited

content is confirmed.

Document all findings and remediation actions in the BRAM case file.

Note: Mastercard's SPME has removed specific MCC and Transaction Category Code (TCC)

requirements and the registration requirement for non-face-to-face adult content

transactions as outlined previously in section 9.4.1. Halyard Pay's content moderation

focuses on merchant content evaluation and remediation rather than transaction coding

and registration of adult content merchants.

Source authority: Mastercard SPME §10.5.

policies/content_moderation/policy.md — after applying change

Content Moderation (BRAM Brand Integrity)

Mastercard's Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) program includes specific

brand-integrity provisions that prohibit acquirers from processing transactions for

merchants engaged in activities that violate Mastercard's acceptable use standards.

Halyard Pay ~~conducts ongoing content monitoring of merchant storefronts~~ monitors merchant storefront content and transaction ¶ data to identify ~~and remediate~~ prohibited ~~content.~~

content, including adult content, and takes action to enforce compliance.

Prohibited categories

Merchants found to be selling or facilitating counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, adult

content that violates applicable law, goods or services that infringe intellectual

property rights, or gambling services in jurisdictions where such services are

restricted are subject to immediate review and, ~~where~~ and if confirmed, merchant suspension.

Required actions

Review merchant storefront content on a weekly cadence using automated scanning

combined with periodic manual sampling.

Flag any merchant whose content matches a prohibited category for human review

within one business day.

Suspend the merchant's processing privileges pending investigation if prohibited

content is confirmed.

Document all findings and remediation actions in the BRAM case file.

Note: Mastercard's SPME has removed specific MCC and Transaction Category Code (TCC)

requirements and the registration requirement for non-face-to-face adult content

transactions as outlined previously in section 9.4.1. Halyard Pay's content moderation

focuses on merchant content evaluation and remediation rather than transaction coding

and registration of adult content merchants.

Source authority: Mastercard SPME §10.5.

Source authority: Mastercard SPME §9.4.1.

--- a/policies/content_moderation/rules.yaml
+++ b/policies/content_moderation/rules.yaml
@@ -11,3 +11,6 @@
 confirmed_violation_action: suspend_processing
 case_documentation_required: true
 agent_owner: content_mod_agent
+
+# Removed specific references to non-face-to-face adult content transaction identification by MCC/TCC and Merchant registration requirements, reflecting Mastercard SPME §9.4.1 update which eliminates these obligations for Acquirers.
+# Policy focuses on broader content moderation enforcement consistent with active SPME sections.
--- a/policies/content_moderation/policy.md
+++ b/policies/content_moderation/policy.md
@@ -3,15 +3,15 @@
 Mastercard's Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) program includes specific
 brand-integrity provisions that prohibit acquirers from processing transactions for
 merchants engaged in activities that violate Mastercard's acceptable use standards.
-Halyard Pay conducts ongoing content monitoring of merchant storefronts and transaction
-data to identify and remediate prohibited content.
+Halyard Pay monitors merchant storefront content and transaction data to identify prohibited
+content, including adult content, and takes action to enforce compliance.
 
 ## Prohibited categories
 
 Merchants found to be selling or facilitating counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, adult
 content that violates applicable law, goods or services that infringe intellectual
 property rights, or gambling services in jurisdictions where such services are
-restricted are subject to immediate review and, where confirmed, merchant suspension.
+restricted are subject to immediate review and, and if confirmed, merchant suspension.
 
 ## Required actions
 
@@ -23,4 +23,10 @@
    content is confirmed.
 4. Document all findings and remediation actions in the BRAM case file.
 
-Source authority: Mastercard SPME §10.5.
+Note: Mastercard's SPME has removed specific MCC and Transaction Category Code (TCC)
+requirements and the registration requirement for non-face-to-face adult content
+transactions as outlined previously in section 9.4.1. Halyard Pay's content moderation
+focuses on merchant content evaluation and remediation rather than transaction coding
+and registration of adult content merchants.
+
+Source authority: Mastercard SPME §10.5.