Payments · Guide6 min readUpdated October 27, 2026

The MATCH List: How Merchants Get On It and Off It

What the Mastercard MATCH list is, every reason code and threshold, Visa's VMSS, how to find out if you're listed and the only two ways off before 5 years.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 5 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

MATCH is Mastercard's database of merchants terminated by acquirers for fraud, rule violations or excessive chargebacks. Acquirers must check it before approving anyone. A listing stays 5 years, and only the acquirer that added it can remove it, in two cases: it was an error, or it was a PCI listing and you're now compliant.

Acquirers must screen every applicant against MATCH and Visa's VMSS before approval.
Code 4: monthly Mastercard chargebacks above 1% of sales transactions and 5,000 USD or more, in the same month.
Code 5: fraud of 8% or more of sales amount, 10 or more fraud transactions and 5,000 USD or more, in the same month.
Listings stay active 5 years; closing your account doesn't prevent one.
If you don't know who listed you, Mastercard answers at matchbusinessowner@mastercard.com.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

A MATCH listing is the hardest outcome in payments: most processors reject listed businesses and their owners1. This guide explains each reason, how to find out where you stand, and what you can and can't do about it.

What MATCH and VMSS are

	MATCH	VMSS
Owner	Mastercard	Visa
Full name	Member Alert to Control High-Risk Merchants	Visa Merchant Screening Service
What's in it	Businesses terminated for severe violations, fraud or high chargebacks	Same, for Visa
Who reads it	Every acquirer, before approving a merchant1 2	Same
How long	5 years1	5 years1

What's recorded: the business's legal name and DBA, address, phone, tax ID and URL, and the principal owner's name, address, phone and tax ID, with the reason code and dates1. The owner is listed, not only the company.

The reason codes

Quantitative codes: the numbers

Code	Reason	Threshold, same calendar month1
MATCH 4	Excessive chargebacks	Mastercard chargebacks above 1% of Mastercard sales transactions and 5,000 USD or more
MATCH 5	Excessive fraud	Fraud of 8% or more of sales amount, and 10 or more fraud transactions, and 5,000 USD or more
VMSS 21	Excessive fraud	250,000 USD of fraud and 1.8% fraud-to-sales, not remediated
VMSS 22	Excessive disputes	1,000 disputes and 1.8% dispute-to-sales, not remediated

Stripe's example: 125 Mastercard transactions and 6 chargebacks totaling 6,250 USD in a month is a 4.8% ratio above 5,000 USD, so the business qualifies on termination. Winning the chargebacks later doesn't change that1.

Fig. 1How close is code 4?

0.6%Mastercard chargebacks ÷ sales transactions

Both lines must be crossed in the same month.

Illustrative ratio. Threshold: MATCH code 4, more than 1% of Mastercard sales transactions and 5,000 USD or more in the same month.

Qualitative codes

Code	Reason1
1	Account data compromise
2	Common point of purchase
3	Laundering: transactions that weren't real sales between the merchant and a cardholder
7	Fraud conviction of a principal owner or partner
8	Mastercard Questionable Merchant Audit Program
9	Bankruptcy, liquidation or insolvency
10	Violation of standards, such as honoring all cards or prohibited transactions
11	Merchant collusion
12	PCI DSS non-compliance
13	Illegal transactions
14	Identity theft: the merchant's or owners' identity was unlawfully assumed

What a listing changes

Most processors reject you. Stripe says a MATCH listing "generally disqualifies" a merchant1.
Your owners carry it. A new company with the same principal owner is screened against the same record.
It survives closure. Acquirers must add a merchant that meets the criteria even if the violation or the end of the relationship comes months after account closure1.
It's fast. Acquirers must add a qualifying merchant within 1 business day of termination or eligibility1.

How to find out if you're listed

Merchants can't search MATCH themselves. Ask your current or previous processor which reason applies to your termination. If you don't know which acquirer listed you, Stripe points to Mastercard's address: matchbusinessowner@mastercard.com1. For VMSS, Stripe suggests contacting Visa through its "Contact Us" page1.

How to get off the MATCH list

There are only two ways before 5 years1:

The listing was an error. Contact the acquirer that added you, with proof. It must show Mastercard the inclusion was a mistake.
It was code 12, PCI non-compliance. Become compliant, then ask the listing acquirer to verify it and remove the listing.

Only the acquirer that listed you can request a removal. Visa doesn't let merchants appeal VMSS listings directly.

For every other code, the listing stays until it expires. Resolving your chargebacks doesn't remove a code 4 listing: Stripe says it "can't remove a merchant that met the excessive chargeback criteria, even if the business has resolved its dispute issues"1. Settling any balance owed to the processor is usually needed before it acts on a request3.

What not to do

Don't reapply under a new company with the same owners. The owner is in the record.
Don't put someone else's name on the application. Identity misrepresentation is itself a listing reason (code 14)1.
Don't change merchant data to dodge monitoring. Visa can fine the acquirer up to 25,000 USD per merchant per month and disqualify the merchant and its principals2.

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments.

How to stay off it

Watch	Line
Mastercard chargebacks	Above 1% and 5,000 USD in a month qualifies for code 41
Mastercard ECM	100 to 299 chargebacks and 1.5% to 2.99%4
Visa VAMP	1.5% fraud plus disputes in the US since April 20265
PCI DSS	Stay compliant; code 12 is the one listing you can reverse1

Disputes resolved before they become chargebacks don't count: see chargeback alerts. The monitoring programs in detail: chargeback monitoring programs.

How Tagada helps

Staying far from the thresholds

Native 3DS2, device intelligence and a rules engine to keep fraud far from the thresholds.
Subscriptions with trials, billing cycles, retries and automatic recovery, so renewals stay clear.
TagadaPay states its refusals upfront, including MATCH-listed merchants.

Plans are on the pricing page.

Apply for processing

Updated on October 27, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MATCH list?

Mastercard's database of merchants terminated by acquirers for fraud, severe rule violations or excessive chargebacks. Acquirers must check it before approving a merchant.

How long do you stay on the MATCH list?

5 years. Early removal is only possible if the listing was an error, or for a PCI listing (code 12) once you're compliant.

How do I know if I'm on the MATCH list?

Ask the processor that terminated you which reason applies. If you don't know who listed you, email matchbusinessowner@mastercard.com.

Can I get a merchant account while on the MATCH list?

It's hard: most processors reject listed businesses and owners, and Stripe says a listing generally disqualifies a merchant. Stripe considers exceptions only with proof such as identity theft under code 14.

What chargeback ratio puts you on the MATCH list?

For code 4: Mastercard chargebacks above 1% of Mastercard sales transactions and 5,000 USD or more in the same month, when the acquirer terminates you.