MasterCard Rules (PDF)

Europe Region Rules
2.3 Area of Use
2.3.2.3 Intracountry Rules
Central Acquirers must comply with the intracountry rules of a country in which
they centrally acquire Transactions.
The Corporation will provide central Acquirers, on request, with the
intracountry rules of the country or countries covered by the request. The
administrative fee for this service, as set forth in the MasterCard Consolidated
Billing System—Europe SEPA Region or MasterCard Consolidated Billing
System—Europe non-SEPA Region manual as applicable, or elsewhere, must be
paid at the time when the request is made and before the rules are sent.
2.3.2.4 Centrally Acquired Merchants
An Acquirer may centrally acquire Transactions from any Merchant located in
any one of the following Western or Central European countries: Andorra,
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Channel Islands, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City.
In all other Europe Region countries, an Acquirer may only centrally acquire
Transactions of a Merchant that:
1. Operates in more than two Europe Region countries either directly; or
through wholly-owned subsidiaries; or through a joint venture that requires
consolidation on the balance sheet of the central company; or under the
same brand name through franchise and/or management contracts.
2. Operates a centrally managed delivery system that services subsidiaries
and local operators and is used to process orders, reservations, sales or
payments; supports the delivery of services (for example, tickets/contracts)
or goods; and manages stock or service availability.
3. Operates a centrally managed accounting system that monitors treasury and
cash management and payment collections and is used to channel and
support payment system authorizations.
2.3.2.4.1 Updating of Merchant Details
To ensure correct system implementation and transaction monitoring, central
Acquirers must inform the Corporation of any changes to the Merchant details of
any Merchant (excluding Merchants in Western and Central European countries)
where Transactions are centralized, including changes to the Merchant’s name
and address and to the MCC used for centrally acquired Transactions. The
changes must be communicated by submitting a central acquiring application
form that contains the new details. If changes to Merchant details are not
communicated within 30 business days of receipt of a warning letter, the
assessment for centrally acquiring Transactions from a non-notified Merchant
will be applied.
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12-4 12 December 2012 • MasterCard Rules