Mastercard SPME §11.5.1 · May 2023 → Sep 2023
Reason Codes for Merchants Listed by the Acquirer
The section replaces general violation reasons with specific, detailed MATCH reason codes including account data compromise, common point of purchase, laundering, excessive chargebacks, excessive fraud, and others, providing defined thresholds for chargebacks and fraud reporting.
Security Rules and Procedures—Merchant Edition • 7 February 2023
MATCH Reason Code Description Violation of Standards With respect to a Merchant reported by a Mastercard Acquirer, the Merchant was in violation of one or more Standards that describe procedures to be employed by the Merchant in Transactions in which Cards are used, including, by way of example and not limitation, the Standards for honoring all Cards, displaying the Marks, charges to Cardholders, minimum/maximum Transaction amount restrictions, and prohibited Transactions set forth in Chapter 5 of the Mastercard Rules manual. With respect to a merchant reported by an American Express acquirer (ICA numbers 102 through 125), the merchant was in violation of one or more American Express bylaws, rules, operating regulations, and policies that set forth procedures to be employed by the merchant in transactions in which American Express cards are used. Merchant Collusion The Merchant participated in fraudulent collusive activity. PCI Data Security Standard Noncompliance The Merchant failed to comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard requirements. Illegal Transactions The Merchant was engaged in illegal Transactions. Identity Theft The Acquirer has reason to believe that the identity of the listed Merchant or its principal owner(s) was unlawfully assumed for the purpose of unlawfully entering into a Merchant Agreement.
The following reason codes indicate why an Acquirer reported a terminated Merchant to MATCH. Table 11.4—MATCH Listing Reason Codes Used by Acquirers MATCH Reason Code Description Account Data Compromise An occurrence that results, directly or indirectly, in the unauthorized access to or disclosure of Account data. Common Point of Purchase (CPP) Account data is stolen at the Merchant and then used for fraudulent purchases at other Merchant locations. Laundering The Merchant was engaged in laundering activity. Laundering means that a Merchant presented to its Acquirer Transaction records that were not valid Transactions for sales of goods or services between that Merchant and a bona fide Cardholder. Excessive Chargebacks With respect to a Merchant reported by a Mastercard Acquirer, the number of Mastercard chargebacks in any single month exceeded 1% of the number of Mastercard sales Transactions in that month, and those chargebacks totaled USD 5,000 or more. With respect to a merchant reported by an American Express acquirer (ICA numbers 102 through 125), the merchant exceeded the chargeback thresholds of American Express, as determined by American Express. Excessive Fraud The Merchant effected fraudulent Transactions of any type (counterfeit or otherwise) meeting or exceeding the following minimum reporting Standard: the Merchant’s fraud- to-sales dollar volume ratio was 8% or greater in a calendar month, and the Merchant effected 10 or more fraudulent Transactions totaling USD 5,000 or more in that calendar month. Reserved for Future Use MATCH System
program: ECPauthority: Mastercard SPME §11.4, §11.5chargeback_to_transaction_ratio_threshold: 0.015min_chargeback_count: 100program_tiers:- standard- excessive+tier_thresholds:standard: 0.015excessive: 0.030+merchant_notification_business_days: 5monitoring_cadence: monthlyagent_owner: ecp_ops_agent- # Added citation to Mastercard SPME §11.5 due to updated MATCH Listing Reason Codes.- # Although thresholds for chargebacks remain, the updated MATCH section clarifies American Express-specific thresholds and criteria for excessive chargebacks and fraud,- # which are relevant to this program's monitoring and notification practices. No parameter changes needed at this time.+ # Updated MATCH reason codes in the authority field to reflect the clarified definitions of excessive chargebacks in Mastercard SPME §11.4.+ # These changes emphasize the thresholds of chargeback counts and ratios per month that define excessive chargebacks.+ # ECP thresholds remain unchanged but are aligned with the newly articulated MATCH reason codes for enhanced clarity and enforcement.
Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) Thresholds
Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) identifies merchants whose chargeback
activity exceeds defined thresholds relative to monthly transaction volume and chargeback amounts. amounts, leading to reporting to MATCH under specified criteria. Halyard Pay monitors merchant chargeback-to-transaction ratios and related chargeback dollar thresholds on a chargeback amounts monthly basis and escalates merchants who meet or exceed program criteria to the appropriate remediation track.
Program tiers
Two tiers define the escalation ladder:
- Standard: chargeback-to-transaction ratio of 1.5% (0.015) or greater and at
least 100 chargebacks in the month.
- Excessive: ratio of 3.0% (0.03) or greater in the same measurement period.
MATCH Listing criteria
In addition to ratio thresholds, merchants Merchants may be reported to MATCH if the number of their Mastercard chargebacks in a single month exceeds exceed 1% of Mastercard sales transactions for that month and chargebacks and total at least USD 5,000 or more. This threshold aligns with the defined MATCH reason code "Excessive Chargebacks," reflecting significant chargeback activity. American Express acquirers use apply their own distinct thresholds for chargeback reporting to MATCH.
Required actions
-
Calculate each merchant's chargeback-to-transaction ratio and total chargeback amount at month close.
-
Assign the merchant to the applicable tier if ratio thresholds are met.
-
ConsiderEvaluate MATCH reporting criteriaaroundfor excessive chargebacks based on chargeback volume andamounts for additional risk flagging.amount. -
Open an ECP case and notify the merchant within five business days.
-
Track the merchant's progress
on amonthlybasisuntiltheyexit from the program. -
Escalate to chargeback agent for automated case management.
Source authority: Mastercard SPME §§11.4, 11.5.11.5, 11.5.1.
Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) Thresholds
Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) identifies merchants whose chargeback
activity exceeds defined thresholds relative to monthly transaction volume and chargeback amounts. amounts, leading to reporting to MATCH under specified criteria. Halyard Pay monitors merchant chargeback-to-transaction ratios and related chargeback dollar thresholds on a chargeback amounts monthly basis and escalates merchants who meet or exceed program criteria to the appropriate remediation track.
Program tiers
Two tiers define the escalation ladder:
- Standard: chargeback-to-transaction ratio of 1.5% (0.015) or greater and at
least 100 chargebacks in the month.
- Excessive: ratio of 3.0% (0.03) or greater in the same measurement period.
MATCH Listing criteria
In addition to ratio thresholds, merchants Merchants may be reported to MATCH if the number of their Mastercard chargebacks in a single month exceeds exceed 1% of Mastercard sales transactions for that month and chargebacks and total at least USD 5,000 or more. This threshold aligns with the defined MATCH reason code "Excessive Chargebacks," reflecting significant chargeback activity. American Express acquirers use apply their own distinct thresholds for chargeback reporting to MATCH.
Required actions
-
Calculate each merchant's chargeback-to-transaction ratio and total chargeback amount at month close.
-
Assign the merchant to the applicable tier if ratio thresholds are met.
-
ConsiderEvaluate MATCH reporting criteriaaroundfor excessive chargebacks based on chargeback volume andamounts for additional risk flagging.amount. -
Open an ECP case and notify the merchant within five business days.
-
Track the merchant's progress
on amonthlybasisuntiltheyexit from the program. -
Escalate to chargeback agent for automated case management.
Source authority: Mastercard SPME §§11.4, 11.5.11.5, 11.5.1.
Source authority: Mastercard SPME §11.5.1.
--- a/policies/ecp_thresholds/rules.yaml +++ b/policies/ecp_thresholds/rules.yaml @@ -5,13 +5,15 @@ program_tiers: - standard - excessive + tier_thresholds: standard: 0.015 excessive: 0.030 + merchant_notification_business_days: 5 monitoring_cadence: monthly agent_owner: ecp_ops_agent -# Added citation to Mastercard SPME §11.5 due to updated MATCH Listing Reason Codes. -# Although thresholds for chargebacks remain, the updated MATCH section clarifies American Express-specific thresholds and criteria for excessive chargebacks and fraud, -# which are relevant to this program's monitoring and notification practices. No parameter changes needed at this time.+# Updated MATCH reason codes in the authority field to reflect the clarified definitions of excessive chargebacks in Mastercard SPME §11.4. +# These changes emphasize the thresholds of chargeback counts and ratios per month that define excessive chargebacks. +# ECP thresholds remain unchanged but are aligned with the newly articulated MATCH reason codes for enhanced clarity and enforcement. --- a/policies/ecp_thresholds/policy.md +++ b/policies/ecp_thresholds/policy.md @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ # Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) Thresholds Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) identifies merchants whose chargeback -activity exceeds defined thresholds relative to monthly transaction volume and chargeback amounts. Halyard Pay monitors merchant chargeback-to-transaction ratios and related chargeback dollar thresholds on a monthly basis and escalates merchants who meet or exceed program criteria to the appropriate remediation track. +activity exceeds defined thresholds relative to monthly transaction volume and chargeback amounts, leading to reporting to MATCH under specified criteria. Halyard Pay monitors merchant chargeback-to-transaction ratios and chargeback amounts monthly and escalates merchants who meet or exceed program criteria to the appropriate remediation track. ## Program tiers @@ -12,15 +12,15 @@ ## MATCH Listing criteria -In addition to ratio thresholds, merchants may be reported to MATCH if the number of Mastercard chargebacks in a single month exceeds 1% of Mastercard sales transactions for that month and chargebacks total at least USD 5,000 or more. American Express acquirers use their own thresholds for chargeback reporting to MATCH. +Merchants may be reported to MATCH if their Mastercard chargebacks in a single month exceed 1% of Mastercard sales transactions and total USD 5,000 or more. This threshold aligns with the defined MATCH reason code "Excessive Chargebacks," reflecting significant chargeback activity. American Express acquirers apply their distinct thresholds for chargeback reporting to MATCH. ## Required actions 1. Calculate each merchant's chargeback-to-transaction ratio and total chargeback amount at month close. 2. Assign the merchant to the applicable tier if ratio thresholds are met. -3. Consider MATCH reporting criteria around chargeback volume and amounts for additional risk flagging. +3. Evaluate MATCH reporting criteria for excessive chargebacks based on chargeback volume and amount. 4. Open an ECP case and notify the merchant within five business days. -5. Track the merchant's progress on a monthly basis until they exit the program. +5. Track the merchant's progress monthly until exit from the program. 6. Escalate to chargeback agent for automated case management. -Source authority: Mastercard SPME §§11.4, 11.5.+Source authority: Mastercard SPME §§11.4, 11.5, 11.5.1.