Mastercard's Scam Merchant Monitoring Program (SMMP) is now actively enforced, requiring acquirers to investigate flagged merchants within 72 hours and immediately terminate Mastercard and Maestro processing if scam activity is confirmed. This new framework applies globally to all card-not-present merchants, with specific guidance identifying adult content and dating platforms for closer attention.

SMMP: A New Era of Merchant Monitoring

The SMMP, which went live on July 24, 2026, introduces an investigation-led approach that differs from previous ratio-based chargeback programs. Acquirers are now mandated to begin an investigation within 72 hours when specific warning signals appear. If the review confirms scam activity, the merchant must be blocked from submitting Mastercard and Maestro transactions immediately. This program applies to all card-not-present merchants worldwide, with the exception of Jordan, including payment facilitators and sub-merchants.

Mastercard has framed this update as an effort to address a merchant trust problem, targeting fake storefronts, deceptive online businesses, and manipulation schemes that use ordinary card acceptance as part of a scam. Older monitoring models were often unable to produce enough evidence for action before scam sellers disappeared. The revised framework moves the acquiring side closer to the beginning of this pattern, requiring earlier review when transaction behavior, issuer reports, network notices, or third-party monitoring alerts suggest potential scam operations.

The SMMP is signal-based rather than ratio-based. Triggers for an investigation can include issuer reports, authorization-rate collapse, and monitoring-provider alerts. A sudden spike in chargebacks, a drop in authorization rates, or a particular type of fraud reported by an issuer can initiate an investigation. Unlike older programs that allowed merchants time to course correct as ratios climbed gradually, SMMP can lead to immediate termination of acceptance if scam activity is confirmed.

Impact on Adult Content and Dating Platforms

While SMMP is not designed to target any single industry, Mastercard's guidance specifically identifies adult content and dating platforms for closer attention. These verticals are noted for common discretion needs and billing descriptor confusion, both of which can contribute to the refund and dispute activity SMMP is designed to detect. This can make ordinary business friction appear as a risk signal.

For merchants in these sectors, understanding what can trigger an investigation, how their accounts are structured, and what their acquiring partners know about their business is increasingly important. The program does not treat all merchants identically; those with less than six months of Mastercard acceptance history face heightened scrutiny. This early period is critical because scam operations often open new merchant accounts, process transactions for a short time, and exit before complaints mature into chargeback patterns.

One particular trigger combines refunds and chargebacks into a single threshold. For a merchant's first six months of Mastercard acceptance, accounts processing at least 500 transactions in a rolling 30-day period can face investigation if refunds and chargebacks together exceed 5%. This threshold includes proactive refunds, counting them similarly to chargebacks. This six-month monitoring period applies to each merchant account, not the company as a whole. Consequently, switching acquirers, adding a legal entity, or expanding into a new market can restart the clock for legitimate platforms with complex payment structures, potentially creating additional scrutiny.

Many established platforms in the adult content and dating verticals utilize multiple merchant accounts across various acquiring banks for business continuity. Under SMMP, a new account can open a fresh six-month monitoring window. A company with clean operations and multiple Merchant IDs (MIDs) may appear structurally similar, on paper, to one opening accounts to avoid scrutiny. This creates uncertainty for legitimate merchants relying on redundancy across multiple accounts and MIDs.

Navigating the New Landscape

Merchants aiming to stay ahead of SMMP need to understand and closely monitor potential investigation triggers. This involves tracking where each MID stands relative to the combined 5% refund-and-chargeback threshold, identifying accounts within their six-month monitoring window, and noting newer accounts approaching the 500-transaction floor that makes them eligible for review.

Beyond the numbers, merchants should track individual refund causes, use billing descriptors that customers recognize, and maintain a documented compliance file proactively, rather than assembling one during a 72-hour investigation scramble. Actions such as delaying refunds to protect a ratio, making cancellations difficult, splitting volume across MIDs to dilute a number, or opening accounts with incomplete underwriting can create patterns that SMMP is designed to detect.

The 72-hour investigation window is managed by the acquirer, highlighting the importance of the acquiring relationship. An acquirer that already understands a merchant's business model, the rationale behind its account structure, and has supporting underwriting documentation is better positioned to evaluate potential false positives. This preparation should ideally begin before an application reaches the bank. For age-gated products, for example, age verification and appropriate disclosures should be in place beforehand. Clear documentation, transparent account structures, and strong acquiring relationships can help ensure an investigation starts with an understanding of the business.

Key Facts

  • Mastercard's Scam Merchant Monitoring Program (SMMP) became actively enforced on July 24, 2026.
  • Acquirers must investigate flagged merchants within 72 hours; confirmed scam activity leads to immediate termination of Mastercard and Maestro processing.
  • The program applies globally to all card-not-present merchants, excluding Jordan.
  • Adult content and dating platforms are specifically identified for closer attention due to common discretion needs and billing descriptor confusion.
  • A key trigger for merchants under six months old is a combined refund and chargeback rate exceeding 5% over any 30-day rolling period, with a minimum of 500 transactions.
  • The SMMP is signal-based, not ratio-based, and focuses on scam activity signals such as issuer reports and authorization-rate collapse.