A terminated merchant file (TMF) is a tool used by
credit card processing companies to screen potential
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
s before giving them a
merchant account.
In the case of
Mastercard and
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
it is known as the MATCH list.
[MasterCard API]
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The terminated merchant files are shared among processors and act as blacklists, where merchants with high-risk accounts or excessive chargebacks are put on the list and prevented from opening an account with a different credit card processor.
Other reasons for being put on a terminated merchant file include:
* Merchant collusion
* Fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
* Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
References
Payment systems
Merchant services
Credit
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