Prohibited MasterCard Card Acceptance Practices

The following card acceptance practices are prohibited by MasterCard:

• Discrimination A merchant must not engage in any acceptance practice that discriminates against or discourages the use of MasterCard cards in favor of any other brand.
  
• Charges to cardholders. A merchant must not directly or indirectly require any MasterCard cardholder to pay a surcharge or any part of any merchant discount or any contemporaneous finance charge in connection with a MasterCard card transaction. A merchant may provide a discount to its customers for cash payments. A merchant is permitted to charge a fee (such as a commission, postage, expedited service or convenience fees, and the like) if the fee is imposed on all like transactions regardless of the form of payment used. The following definitions apply:
  
  • A surcharge is any fee charged in connection with a MasterCard transaction that is not charged if another payment method is used.
    
  • The merchant discount fee is the fee the merchant pays to its acquiring bank to acquire transactions.
    
• Minimum / maximum transaction amount prohibited. A merchant must not require, or post signs indicating that it requires, a minimum or maximum transaction amount to accept a valid MasterCard card.
  
• Prohibited transactions. A merchant must not submit for payment into interchange, and an acquiring bank must not accept from a merchant for submission into interchange, any transaction:
  
  • That represents the refinancing or transfer of an existing cardholder obligation that is deemed to be uncollectible.
    
  • That arises from the dishonor of a cardholder's personal check.
    
  • That arises from the acceptance of MasterCard cards at terminals that dispense scrip.
    
• Other forms of payment. A merchant must not accept any payment from a customer in any other form (for example, cash or check) with respect to a charge for goods or services that are included on a transaction information document (TID) resulting from the use of a MasterCard card.