Mastercard rules The Mastercard Rules outline the requirements for participation in the Mastercard scheme. Under Mastercard’s scheme rules, prospective customers may apply to become a Principal or an Affiliate customer.
Principal & Affiliate customers A Principal customer participates directly in the activities of the Mastercard scheme. Affiliate customers participate indirectly in the activity of the scheme through the Sponsorship of a Principal customer. A Principal customer may sponsor one or more Affiliates and is responsible for the settlement and other activities of its sponsored Affiliates. An Affiliate customer may not sponsor any other customer.
Application A financial institution applicant must be regulated and supervised by the National Competent Authority prior to applying for and being granted a license to operate under the Mastercard scheme. In order to be able to issue Mastercard cards or acquire Mastercard transactions, a European regulated entity must obtain a license to operate and must be technically implemented & integrated with the Mastercard Network. The applicant must go through
an onboarding process to ensure compliance with the Mastercard Standards such as compliance with the Anti Money Laundering program, customer risk requirements and PCI Compliance. The customer must also go through an implementation project prior to conducting live operations.
an onboarding process to ensure compliance with the Mastercard Standards such as compliance with the Anti Money Laundering program, customer risk requirements and PCI Compliance. The customer must also go through an implementation project prior to conducting live operations.