TL;DR
Mastercard MATCH Pro is a merchant-risk information system used by acquiring financial institutions and authorized processors to support onboarding and risk decisions. It can contain information about merchants that were terminated and the reason code or associated risk signals. A MATCH result is important, but it is not a public consumer blacklist and it does not automatically describe every processing network or every possible provider decision.
AT A GLANCE
What does this guide answer?
- What information can be involved?
- Who can search MATCH?
- Why it matters to an application?
- What should merchants know about if you believe information is wrong?
QUESTION
What information can be involved?
ANSWER
MATCH is an acquiring-industry database used by participating acquirers when evaluating merchants.
- An acquirer submits a record under applicable Mastercard criteria and reason codes.
- Merchants generally work through the reporting acquirer when they believe a record is inaccurate; a sales agent cannot simply delete it.
- For what information can be involved, keep the evidence simple and reviewable: identify the responsible owner, preserve the supporting documents, write down the provider’s requirement, and confirm the result in the account’s reports or agreement.
- The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis.
- A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next.
- These steps make the application easier to understand and give ORCA more to work with when matching the business to an appropriate processing relationship.
QUESTION
Who can search MATCH?
ANSWER
MATCH is an acquiring-industry database used by participating acquirers when evaluating merchants.
- An acquirer submits a record under applicable Mastercard criteria and reason codes.
- Merchants generally work through the reporting acquirer when they believe a record is inaccurate; a sales agent cannot simply delete it.
- For who can search match, keep the evidence simple and reviewable: identify the responsible owner, preserve the supporting documents, write down the provider’s requirement, and confirm the result in the account’s reports or agreement.
- The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis.
- A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next.
- These steps make the application easier to understand and give ORCA more to work with when matching the business to an appropriate processing relationship.
QUESTION
Why it matters to an application?
ANSWER
MATCH is an acquiring-industry database used by participating acquirers when evaluating merchants.
- An acquirer submits a record under applicable Mastercard criteria and reason codes.
- Merchants generally work through the reporting acquirer when they believe a record is inaccurate; a sales agent cannot simply delete it.
- For why it matters to an application, keep the evidence simple and reviewable: identify the responsible owner, preserve the supporting documents, write down the provider’s requirement, and confirm the result in the account’s reports or agreement.
- The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis.
- A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next.
- These steps make the application easier to understand and give ORCA more to work with when matching the business to an appropriate processing relationship.
QUESTION
What should merchants know about if you believe information is wrong?
ANSWER
MATCH is an acquiring-industry database used by participating acquirers when evaluating merchants.
- An acquirer submits a record under applicable Mastercard criteria and reason codes.
- Merchants generally work through the reporting acquirer when they believe a record is inaccurate; a sales agent cannot simply delete it.
- For if you believe information is wrong, keep the evidence simple and reviewable: identify the responsible owner, preserve the supporting documents, write down the provider’s requirement, and confirm the result in the account’s reports or agreement.
- The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis.
- A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next.
- These steps make the application easier to understand and give ORCA more to work with when matching the business to an appropriate processing relationship.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions, answered
Does being terminated always mean I am on MATCH?
The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis. A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next. The exact answer depends on the written program terms and the merchant’s facts, so confirm it with the responsible provider before relying on it operationally.
Can ORCA remove a MATCH listing?
The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis. A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next. The exact answer depends on the written program terms and the merchant’s facts, so confirm it with the responsible provider before relying on it operationally.
Is MATCH the same as a credit bureau?
The fastest useful response is accurate diagnosis. A merchant should separate ordinary settlement timing from a risk review, reserve deduction, negative balance, technical incident, or account restriction before deciding what to do next. The exact answer depends on the written program terms and the merchant’s facts, so confirm it with the responsible provider before relying on it operationally.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Reference material
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