Merchants and businesses that wind up on Terminated Merchant Files or Match lists don’t all deserve to be there. Two common, non-illegal causes for a high-risk merchant to wind up on these lists are failure to pay the final bill and high chargeback rates. Operating a business, opening new merchant accounts, and high-risk credit card processing may seem next to impossible for those who are placed on these lists. Here are some solutions for merchants who discover themselves to be on one of these lists.
TMF/Match List Basics
If you fail to make a final bill payment or if you have an excessive chargeback rate, it’s easy to find yourself on one of these lists. The bank that processes your payments or merchant accounts is the only one that can place you on these lists and you may not be notified until you try to open a new merchant account. According to MasterCard, you can stay on these lists for up to five years. Most high-risk credit card payment processors will not open a new account if you’re a merchant on this list.
Getting Off the List
One solution is to simply get off the TMF or Match list. If you failed to make a final payment the quickest and most direct solution is to make good on your debt. However, it still remains the prerogative of the payment processor to remove you from the list.
If you were placed on the list for an excessive chargeback rate then the only solution is time. Time combined with fewer chargebacks can result in the bank removing you from the TMF or Match list. Effective management of customer disputes and chargebacks will facilitate getting your business off these lists.
Alternative Credit Card Payment Processors
There are alternative sources for high-risk credit card payment processing that will accept and open accounts for merchants on the TMF and Match list, often at the cost of high rates. EMB has an experienced team ready to match you with the right TMF/Match list approved credit card processor if you urgently need to open a high-risk credit payment processing merchant account.
As your business is already ‘in a hole’ being on one of these lists it’s vital to let an experienced team find a reputable processor that will help, not hurt, your business on the road to recovering from this status.
Being placed on a TMF or Match list is an unfortunate reality even for non-criminal businesses. Hard times require hard measures and banks can be unforgiving over chargebacks and final bills. The best preventative measure is to make your payments and keep chargeback rates low, but if you are on one of these lists it’s not the end of the world. EMB can help you navigate the unfamiliar waters and get you a TMF credit card payment processor to get your business back on the right track.