Account bans and restrictions
As long as you comply with PCI DSS standards and follow the Terms and Conditions outlined during your onboarding and underwriting, your merchant account will remain in good standing. However, there are specific circumstances where an account may be suspended or permanently closed.
Account Suspension (Billing)
Your Mallow access and merchant processing can be suspended if you fail to pay your SaaS subscription fee (the monthly or annual fee for using the Mallow platform). Usually, these issues are resolved quickly by updating your payment method.
Account Bans & Permanent Closure
A merchant account may be permanently banned if the platform is used to process payments for prohibited or high-risk industries. Our processor, Fiserv, maintains a list of restricted products and services to comply with federal regulations and card network rules.
Commonly prohibited or high-risk industries include:
Controlled Substances: Drugs, alcohol, and cannabis
Financial Products: Securities, investments, and cryptocurrency
Adult Content: Adult entertainment or related services
Regulated Goods: Weapons and unverified pharmaceutical products
Gambling: Betting, prediction markets, and lotteries
Specialized Services: Real estate, insurance, and telecommunications
High-Risk Retail: Complex e-commerce models (e.g., multi-level marketing or high-volume, multi-currency retail)
Compliance Violations
Your account could also be at risk if you fail to uphold security standards, such as:
Illegal Activity: Processing transactions for fraudulent or illegal purposes
Excessive Disputes: Maintaining an unusually high chargeback-to-sales ratio
PCI Non-Compliance: Consistently failing to meet required security data standards