Why Merchants Get MATCH’d After Fraud They Didn’t Cause: Inside the BRAM Fine System | PEP109

Why Merchants Get MATCH’d After Fraud They Didn’t Cause: Inside the BRAM Fine System | PEP109

From The Payments Experts Podcast by Expert Payments Attorneys of Global Legal Law Firm

May 13, 2026 · 27 min · Episode 109

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges merchants face with unexpected fines and the complexities of the payment processing system.

Negotiation changes when you have leverage. Our playbook: lock out debits, demand the underlying basis, and force real answers, sometimes by filing a complaint. A six figure “brand fine” lands out of nowhere, nobody will show you the underlying letter, and the funds can get pulled before you even have a chance to respond. That is the reality we see for merchants caught in the gap between card network rules, sponsor bank obligations, and the merchant processing agreement that quietly shifts l...

Topics covered

  • merchant fraud
  • BRAM fine system
  • payment processing
  • negotiation strategies
  • card network rules

Keywords

  • MATCH
  • fraud
  • brand fine
  • negotiation
  • merchant
  • payment processing
  • card network
  • sponsor bank

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Global Legal Law Firm, card network, sponsor bank, merchant processing agreement

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