Maestro Global Rules (PDF) - MasterCard

Acquiring
7.1 Acquirer Obligations and Activities
1. Credit check, background investigations, and reference checks of the
Merchant, and a check for validity of the business address and other
information provided by the Merchant. If the credit check of the Merchant
raises questions, the Acquirer also should conduct a credit check of:
a. The owner, if the Merchant is a sole proprietor; or
b. The partners, if the Merchant is a partnership; or
c. The principal shareholders, if the Merchant is a corporation.
2. Investigation of the Merchant’s previous Merchant Agreements.
An Acquirer is not required to conduct a credit check of a public or private
company that has annual sales revenue in excess of USD 50 million (or
the foreign currency equivalent), provided the Acquirer reviews, and finds
satisfactory for purposes of the acquiring being considered, the most recent
annual report of the Merchant, including audited financial statements. A private
company that does not have a recent audited financial statement is subject to a
credit check and inspection even if its annual sales revenue exceeds USD 50
million.
It is also recommended that the Acquirer perform an inspection of the
Merchant’s premises (both physical locations and Internet URLs, as applicable)
and records to ensure that the Merchant has the proper facilities, equipment,
inventory, agreements, and personnel required and if necessary, license or
permit and other capabilities to conduct the business.
In addition, the Acquirer must review the Merchant’s activity to determine
if it engages in the processing of special Transaction types (see Chapter
9, “Processing Requirements”). The Acquirer, the Merchant, and any
Sub-merchants must comply with all Standards applicable to these special
Transactions. This requirement applies if a Merchant Agreement exists and the
Merchant wishes to expand its activities to include these Transactions.
The Corporation has the right to audit an Acquirer’s records to determine
compliance with these Standards.
These Merchant signing requirements do not apply to the extent that compliance
would violate local law. The Corporation may approve a recognized local
alternative to a requirement if the alternative provides substantially the same
level of protection to the Corporation.
7.1.3 Use of a Payment Facilitator
The Acquirer is liable for all acts and omissions by a Payment Facilitator and
any Sub-merchant.
A Payment Facilitator may not be a Sub-merchant of any other Payment
Facilitator, nor may a Payment Facilitator be a Payment Facilitator for another
Payment Facilitator.
©1993–2012 MasterCard. Proprietary. All rights reserved.
Maestro Global Rules • 9 November 2012 7-3