Mastercard ECM Program: Thresholds & TiersNo Matter the Reason, All Chargebacks Count Against You
In a Nutshell
All chargebacks count against you when it comes to Mastercard’s Excessive Chargeback (ECM) program. Exceed the chargeback thresholds, and you can instantly find yourself in hot water. This piece breaks down those exact numbers and reveals the strict thresholds and escalating tiers that define the program.
Knowing Where the Lines are Drawn for the ECM Program
When it comes to the Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM) program, Mastercard doesn’t get bogged down in the “why.”
Whether you’re dealing with excessive criminal fraud chargebacks, uncontrolled merchant error disputes, or overwhelming friendly fraud, a chargeback is a chargeback in the eyes of the Mastercard chargeback monitoring program.
This black-and-white approach means you need to know exactly where the lines are drawn, because every single dispute pushes you closer to the edge. In this article, we break down the specific thresholds and tiers of Mastercard’s ECM program so that you’ll know if you’re skating on thin ice.
Threshold for Inclusion in the ECM Program
Mastercard’s ECM program is split into two separate programs: Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM), and High Excessive Chargeback Merchant (HECM). The card network will filter merchants into one program or the other based on whether or not they breach predetermined thresholds for monthly chargeback issuances.
Your chargeback rate is the key determining factor to be entered into one of these programs. This is based on your individual merchant ID, or MID. In other words, the Excessive Chargeback Merchant designation is applied to the individual MIDs receiving an excessive number of monthly chargebacks on Mastercard-branded cards.
The thresholds for each merchant program are as follows:
| Number of Monthly Chargebacks | Monthly Chargebacks (% of Total Transactions) | |
| Excessive Chargeback Merchant Program | 100 to 299 | 1.5% to 2.99% |
| High Excessive Chargeback Merchant Program | 300 or more | 3% or more |
We’ll talk more about how this is calculated in the next chapter. For now, just know that Mastercard uses network data to track chargebacks for all transactions, both card-present and card-not-present. The network then notifies acquirers whenever an individual merchant ID breaches the compliance threshold.
ECM Program Tiers
As one might expect, the HECM designation carries stiffer penalties than the standard ECM label:
| Number of Months Above ECP Thresholds | Assessment if ECM in Violation Month (100-299 Chargebacks and 150-299 Basis Points) | Assessment if High Excessive (HECM) in Violation Month Chargebacks and Greater than 300 Basis Points) | |
| Violation Assessment | Violation Assessment | Issuer Recovery Assessment | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 2 | EUR/USD 1,000 | EUR/USD 1,000 | No |
| 3 | EUR/USD 1,000 | EUR/USD 2,000 | No |
| 4 to 6 | EUR/USD 5,000 | EUR/USD 10,000 | Yes |
| 7 to 11 | EUR/USD 25,000 | EUR/USD 50,000 | Yes |
| 12 to 18 | EUR/USD 50,000 | EUR/USD 100,000 | Yes |
| 19 + | EUR/USD 100,000 | EUR/USD 200,000 | Yes |
