What is a terminated merchant file (TMF)? What’s the reason a merchant is listed on it? How can you get off the List? Who can help you with the right merchant processing? No worries. Just follow the lines below to know.

Terminated Merchant File

The TMF or the MATCH list contains the information about your business showing whether or not you should be able to get credit card processing capabilities. Today, the TMF is usually used by credit card companies such as MasterCard International, Visa USA, and most recently, American Express (AmEx). By the way, the MATCH list and the TMF are the same.

Why can a merchant be added to the List? Well, fraudulent activities are one of the reasons. Besides, you can be added there because of chargebacks, gross breaches of contract terms, etc. If you’re on the TMF, you won’t get off it for 5 years. You can no longer be on the List when the bank that’s added you to the List removes you from it.

So how can you get off the List? The bank that’s added you to the List must remove you. First, you should contact the provider and ask the reasons why you’re added to the database. You’ll receive the answer why you’ve been added to the List and how you can get off it.

Don’t fail to keep all your contacts written down and take record of everything the representative says. Remember that it’s rather challenging to get off the TMF list. The difficulty or the possibility depends on the reason(s) you’ve appeared on it.

Who Can Help Merchants on the TMF

To avoid being easily added to the List, work with the right payment processor. All merchants fear the List or the MATCH list, which is the very TMF. The good news is that there are expert merchant processors that can help you avoid appearing on the terminated merchant file.

Even if you’re added there and classified as high risk, a respectable high risk processor will be ready to work with your type of business. This is how you can be sure to obtain a TMF merchant account if needed.

So, the terminated merchant file (TMF) is a database that stores the information about businesses that’ve had their credit card processing services terminated by a provider. To get off this List or the MATCH list, you should, first of all, contact the provider.

Author Bio: Blair Thomas has been a music producer, bouncer, screenwriter and for over a decade has been the proud Co-Founder of eMerchantBroker, the highest rated high risk merchant account processor in the country that can best help you with a terminated merchant file. He has climbed in the Himalayas, survived a hurricane, and lived on a gold mine in the Yukon. He currently calls Thailand his home with a lifetime collection of his favorite books.