top of page

Visa & Mastercard Suspend Risk Monitoring Rules Due to COVID-19




New Rules from Visa/ Mastercard


The global pandemic of COVID-19 has hit the corporate sector with great impact. Businesses have been forced to deal with unprecedented challenges, with some shutting down altogether. In response, Visa and Mastercard have temporarily suspended some of the card brands regulations used to monitor and manage merchant risk.




Fraud monitoring program


Visa

No new enrollments for T&E merchants until July 31, 2020

Fees suspended for T&E merchants until July 31, 2020

Fees suspended for merchants in other industries on case-by case basis


Mastercard

Fees suspended until September 30, 2020 for ecommerce merchants



Chargeback monitoring program


Visa

No new enrollments for T&E merchants until July 31, 2020

Fees suspended for T&E merchants until July 31, 2020

Fees suspended for merchants in other industries on case-by case basis


Mastercard

No new enrollments until July 31, 2020 for airlines, cruise lines, passenger railways, or travel agents

Fees suspended until July 31,2020 for airlines, cruise lines, passenger railways or travel agents


Visa Updates

Following the COVID-19 global pandemic, Visa has suspended rules for two groups of merchants (1) in the travel and entertainment industry and (2) those in other industries who are victims of the pandemic in equal measures.

If chargeback threshold are being breached, during this time fines and fees are being suspended and acquirers don't need to revoke payment processing privileges.


Mastercard Updates

Mastercard has also suspended fraud and chargeback monitoring programs. The card brands will continue to flag merchants with high fraud rates but merchants will not be fined for thresholds at this time. Program enrollment and fees will resume November 2020 for merchants who have breached chargeback thresholds in October 2020.

Mastercard has suspended the Excessive Chargeback Program until July 31, 2020 for the following industries.

  • Airlines

  • Cruise lines

  • Passenger railways

  • Travel agents


Industries currently being monitored for similar impact and who may be susceptible to increase fraud and chargebacks.

  • Event ticketing companies

  • Gyms

  • Car rental companies

  • Hotels

  • Industries with a delayed delivery

Does your business need help managing fraud and chargebacks?

If your business has seen an increase in fraud or chargebacks due to COVID-19, Approvely can help. We have simple tools aimed at helping small businesses reduce their overall liability of fraud and chargebacks. Set up a call with our team today.

11 views

Comments


bottom of page