Mastercard issues BRAM Violations and $150,000 Fines to Merchants Selling Marijuana and Cannabis Products.
As a valued merchant of Merchant Industry, we want to ensure that you comply with all card brand rules and are not currently selling illegal substances such as marijuana, pre-rolled marijuana products, and cannabis-infused products in your place of business.
The illegal sale of products such as marijuana, pre-rolled marijuana products, and cannabis-infused products directly violates Mastercard’s rules on the integrity of the brand and network (Mastercard rule 3.7), as well as the prohibition of illegal or brand-damaging transactions (Mastercard rule 5.12.7).
Two New York State merchants were recently fined by Mastercard for illegally selling marijuana and cannabis products to customers. The Mastercard Business Risk Assessment and Mitigation (BRAM) compliance team conducted secret shopping at these merchants and discovered these illegal activities.
Visit the Merchant Industry Violations page to learn more merchantindustry.com/violations
Violating Mastercards’ rules will lead to severe consequences, including fines of up to $200,000 and being listed on the Mastercard Alert to Control High-risk (MATCH) list. Being on this list marks merchants as having an unacceptable level of risk and significantly damages their business. It also results in the merchant being removed from their Merchant Processor.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your dedicated Sales Agent or Merchant Industry’s Customer Support team at (866) 811-1005 x3 or support@merchantindustry.net. You may also use the form on our contact page.
