What the Mastercard MATCH List Is
Mastercard's MATCH Pro is a system acquirers use to check a merchant before they sign it. Here is what Mastercard's own manual says about it.
You just heard the term from a processor or another merchant. The Mastercard MATCH list is a database Mastercard runs. Acquirers search it before they sign you.
What MATCH is
Mastercard's Security Rules and Procedures manual has a chapter on the MATCH Pro System. MATCH is the shared list itself. Acquirers use it to check a merchant before they sign it.
Who must use it
Mastercard's rules say a Customer must participate in the MATCH Pro system unless excused by Mastercard or prohibited by law.
Mastercard's manual also says Customers must inform Merchants that they use MATCH Pro to assess Merchants before engaging them. So the acquirer on your application should tell you it will run this search.
How a merchant gets added
Mastercard's manual has a section on when to add a merchant to MATCH Pro.
Mastercard's rules name two reason codes. Mastercard's rules say it may identify a merchant under investigation in MATCH Pro using reason code 00. So a merchant can show in MATCH Pro while it is under investigation.
The other is reason code 24. Reason code 24 is different. Mastercard puts a merchant into MATCH Pro under that code once the merchant fits the Coercion Program criteria.
There is a check on that one. Mastercard's manual says the MATCH Pro record will be deleted if the later coercion claim does not meet Coercion Program criteria. An accusation alone does not lock a merchant in.
How acquirers search it
Before signing a merchant, the acquirer runs an inquiry. Mastercard's manual says an Acquirer must conduct MATCH inquiries under the proper ICA Number.
The search itself looks for two kinds of hits. Mastercard's manual says MATCH Pro searches for exact possible matches and phonetic possible matches. A phonetic match catches names that sound the same but are spelled differently.
An exact match is stricter. Mastercard's manual says MATCH Pro finds an exact possible match when inquiry data matches stored data letter-for-letter, number-for-number, or both. If your business name and details match a stored record that way, the acquirer sees it.
What happens when an acquirer skips the search
The search is not optional. Mastercard may add assessments for an acquirer's failure to inquire into MATCH Pro before signing the merchant. An assessment is a fine Mastercard levies on the acquirer.
Removal and determinations
Mastercard's manual has a section on acquirer requests for removal from MATCH Pro.
Mastercard's manual says Mastercard makes a final determination on whether any violations occurred once all required information has been received. Until the file is complete, there is no determination either way.
For coercion records, the deletion rule above applies. If the claim fails the program's criteria, the record comes out.
Privacy and data protection
The data in MATCH is personal data, and Mastercard treats it that way. Its Security Rules and Procedures include Appendix F, which sets privacy and data protection standards for MATCH Pro. Mastercard's manual says the appendix sets them under the data protection law that applies.
Two rules matter most to a merchant. The first is a time limit. Mastercard's rules say Personal Data processed for MATCH must be deleted or destroyed after a maximum of five years. Personal Information processed for MATCH Pro carries the same limit of five years. The record does not sit in the system forever.
Second, Mastercard's rules say the Acquirer is responsible for handling requests to correct or delete Personal Information in its MATCH Pro listings. If your listing holds wrong personal data, the acquirer that listed you is the party to approach.
The standards have an end date too. Mastercard's manual says the appendix Standards stop applying to a Customer when its use of MATCH Pro ends, except the data retention obligation. That one duty lasts.
Record keeping
Acquirers must keep their own files straight. Mastercard's rules say investigation records may include date-stamped MATCH Pro inquiry records and addition records. Mastercard's rules also say an Acquirer must retain all records concerning the investigation of a Merchant after the agreement is terminated or expires.
So the acquirer that searched you, signed you and later ended the agreement keeps a paper trail of all of it.
How this connects to your account
MATCH is Mastercard's list, and Mastercard's rules govern it.
MATCH matters when you apply, since the acquirer checks it. Your processor has a bank over it. See why banks watch payment processors for what that bank looks for.
If you sell by phone, read up on billing authorization on phone sales.