Stuck on the MATCH List? What Every Payments Professional Must Know to Protect Merchants and Portfolios

In the merchant services and payments world, few issues are more business-threatening than being placed on Visa and Mastercard’s MATCH list. For merchants, it can mean account terminations, frozen processing, and reputational damage. For ISOs, agents, and payment facilitators, it can trigger portfolio instability, residual loss, and merchant attrition—often without warning.

In this episode of The Payments Experts Podcast, produced by Global Legal Law Firm, our guests include Bryce Van De Moere, Esq., and Global Legal’s Director of Operations, Jeremy Stock, to unpack the complex legal and operational realities behind MATCH list placement, dispute, and removal. If you’re advising merchants, managing portfolios, or scaling fintech operations, this is essential listening.

Why This Matters to Payments Professionals

Processors, acquirers, and card brands are increasingly aggressive about risk monitoring and merchant termination. Once a merchant lands on the MATCH list, finding a new processing home becomes exponentially harder. For payment professionals, this creates portfolio churn, increased compliance exposure, and potential residual revenue loss.

Our attorneys break down:

• The top reasons merchants are placed on MATCH and how to identify red flags early.
• Why many MATCH placements are preventable with proactive legal guidance.
• How improper reporting or processor missteps can result in merchants being flagged unfairly.
• The growing role of fraud, chargebacks, and regulatory scrutiny in MATCH list enforcement.

Strategies for Disputing and Removing MATCH Placements

MATCH removal isn’t as simple as filling out a form—it requires a strategic legal approach and a deep understanding of processor relationships and network rules. Our experts walk through:

• When and how to challenge an incorrect MATCH designation.
• How merchants, ISOs, and facilitators can work together to minimize long-term damage.
• The importance of building evidence, documenting disputes, and leveraging legal expertise to negotiate with acquirers.
• Why taking action quickly is critical to preserving merchant processing continuity.

Protect Your Portfolio and Your Merchants

For ISOs, agents, payment facilitators, and fintech leaders, MATCH issues go beyond individual merchants—they represent a direct threat to portfolio stability and growth. Without a clear removal strategy, you risk losing clients, shrinking revenue streams, and facing reputational harm with upstream processors.

If you’re serious about protecting merchants, safeguarding residuals, and strengthening your portfolio, this episode delivers actionable insights from the payments attorneys who specialize in MATCH disputes and high-risk merchant processing.

Listen now to equip yourself with the knowledge needed to navigate MATCH list disputes and keep your merchants—and your business—moving forward.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice.  All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

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A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm