MasterCard Rules (PDF)

8.1 Transaction Requirements
Sales Transactions and Cash Disbursements
8.1 Transaction Requirements
Each Customer must, in accordance with the Standards, comply with each of
the following five requirements:
1. Accept and present to the Issuer records of Transactions arising from the
use of a Card issued by any other Customer from any Merchant that the
Customer has authorized to honor Cards;
2. Accept and pay for records of Transactions received from another Customer
arising from the use of any Card or Access Device issued by it;
3. Present to the Issuer records of the cash disbursement transactions the
Customer acquires; and
4. Maintain, directly or indirectly, a functional twenty-four-hour per day
operating connection to the Interchange System, and not force any other
Customer wishing to operate multilaterally using the Interchange System
into bilateral agreements.
5. Ensure that each Cross-border Transaction (that is, one that takes place
at a Merchant located outside the country where the Card was issued) is
processed through the Interchange System, unless one of the following
conditions exist;
a. The Customer has applied for and received prior written approval from
the Corporation to effect other arrangements;
b. The Customer has applied for and received certification from the
Corporation with the network processing standards for any bilateral or
multilateral arrangement entered into on or after 1 June 2009; or
c. Applicable law requires other arrangements, and only to the extent
otherwise so required.
As used in paragraph 5 above, “processed” means authorized, when required,
and cleared through the Interchange System.
If a Cross-border Transaction is not processed through the Interchange System
and meets one of the conditions contained in requirement five, parts (a)
through (c) above, Customers shall also provide the Corporation with a report
with respect to such Cross-border Transactions in a form as required by the
Corporation on a time frame as prescribed by the Corporation. Such report and
all information contained therein shall be subject to Rule 3.6.2.
NOTE
A variation to this Rule provision appears in Section 12b, “SEPA Rules.”
In the event that any Customer is a party to a bilateral or multilateral
arrangement established before 1 June 2009 and such Customer has not applied
for and received prior written approval from the Corporation to effect such
arrangement, then such Customer must:
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MasterCard Rules • 12 December 2012 8-1