Mastercard ECM

Also called Excessive Chargeback Merchant, Excessive Chargeback Program, ECP

Mastercard's monitoring tier for merchants with at least 100 chargebacks and a 1.5% chargeback rate in a month, which brings fines that rise each month the merchant stays in.

Mastercard compares chargebacks this month with sales transactions last month. A merchant enters Excessive Chargeback Merchant (ECM) status at 100 or more chargebacks and a 1.5% rate, and the High Excessive tier (HECM) at 300 chargebacks and 3% (J.P. Morgan acquirer guide).

Fines escalate by consecutive month, per Stripe’s summary. Month one costs nothing, months two and three $1,000, months four to six $5,000, and the fine reaches $100,000 a month from month 19. From month four, an issuer recovery assessment adds $5 for each chargeback over 300. HECM fines go up to $200,000. Leaving the program takes three consecutive months below the threshold, and Mastercard counts a chargeback whatever its outcome, even if the payment was refunded.

The rate is measured per merchant account. A studio processing through its own PSP account owns these fines. Under a merchant of record, the MoR’s account carries them. See chargebacks and fraud.