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.
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).
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.
Merchant Industry LLC® is a registered MSP/ISO of the following: Elavon, Inc. Georgia a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, MN Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA., Esquire Bank, N.A., Jericho, NY and Commercial Bank of California, Irvine, CA. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. American Express may require separate approval. The Clover name and logo are owned by Clover Network, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Data Corporation, and are registered or used in the U.S. and many foreign countries.
Copyright © 2024 Merchant Industry All Rights Reserved.
