The most important thing to understand about MATCH removal is also the most frustrating: only the acquirer that added the listing can remove it. Not Mastercard, not your new processor, not a consultant who promises to “clean” your file for a fee. If someone is charging you to remove a listing they did not enter, they are selling you a letter you could write yourself.
Step one — establish the facts
Contact the acquirer that terminated you and ask, in writing, for confirmation of whether you were added to MATCH, under which reason code, and on what date. Address it to their risk or compliance function rather than to your old account manager, who will typically not have visibility. Keep the request factual and unemotional. You are gathering information, not opening an argument.
Step two — build the case
Removal happens when you can show the listing was entered in error, or that the underlying issue has been resolved in a way that changes the picture. What tends to work depends on the code. For a chargeback-related listing: evidence that the ratio has been brought down, that the product or fulfilment problem driving disputes has been fixed, and that a chargeback prevention process is now in place. For a listing tied to a specific dispute or investigation: documentation showing it was resolved in your favour. For identity theft or unauthorised use of your details: a police report and supporting evidence. For an administrative error: whatever demonstrates the facts were misread.
Assemble it as a single, organised pack with a short covering letter that states plainly what you are asking for and why. Acquirer compliance teams process a lot of these. Clarity is worth more than volume.
Step three — expect it to take time
This is not a fast process. Responses are commonly measured in weeks, follow-ups are often needed, and there is no service-level commitment or external escalation route if the acquirer declines. Some acquirers will not remove a listing under any circumstances short of proven error. Plan your business on the assumption that removal may not happen, and treat it as an upside if it does.
In the meantime
You do not have to stop trading while this plays out. A subset of high-risk providers underwrite MATCH-listed merchants case by case, and a listed merchant with a clean story and a completed remediation plan is a considerably better prospect than a listed merchant with neither. Be upfront about the listing when you apply. Providers will find it during underwriting regardless, and a merchant who disclosed it is treated very differently from one who did not.
Frequently asked questions
No. Only the acquirer that created the listing can remove it, and a third party cannot compel them. Services that promise removal are selling either a letter you could write yourself or nothing at all. Legitimate help in this area looks like assistance assembling documentation, not a guaranteed outcome.
Listings are retained for a defined period — commonly cited as five years from the date added — and then age off automatically. Confirm the current retention rule against Mastercard programme documentation, as network rules change.
Yes, always. The acquirer will run the check regardless, so disclosure costs you nothing and non-disclosure counts as misrepresentation at application — a reason acquirers themselves use to terminate and list. With a provider that underwrites MATCH-listed merchants, an honest file moves faster.
Get matched with a provider that works with MATCH-listed merchants
This guide is general information about payment processing and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Requirements change and vary by jurisdiction and by licence type. Confirm anything material with UAE-qualified counsel or the relevant authority before acting on it.