Code of Ethics

Mission Statement

The Merchant Acquirer's Committee "MAC" is an organization of Bankcard Risk Management professionals. It is comprised of financial institutions, independent sales organizations, card associations, law enforcement and others related to merchant risk. MAC is dedicated to providing universal risk management solutions through ongoing communications and cooperation among acquirers and card associations.

Introduction

As a dedicated group of professionals within the payment card industry, we have the responsibility to adhere to a Code of Ethics which will promote the highest level of confidence in this organization, promote it goals and encourage the full cooperation among its members.

To achieve this end and to ensure the success of the Merchant Acquirer's Committee, each individual member and participating organization must agree to follow the guidelines established by this document. These guidelines are presented here for the good of all and to protect all from injury or potential misuse of the information which might be obtained by a member in the legitimate and rightful performance of our respective duties.

Honesty and Integrity

Each Member must present himself in such a manner to demonstrate their intention to use any information derived from this organization in a lawful manner to mitigate loss or damage to their own organization, the industry and other members.

Each request for information or the sharing of information must not be made for personal gain at the expense of other members nor to unduly influence marketing based decisions of other members.

Confidentiality and Accuracy

Each member must regard any information obtained or made available through the use of this organization's intelligence network such as the MAC Alert or Request for Information to be CONFIDENTIAL and not to be divulged to outside parties, non-members or those without a genuine need to know based on their responsibilities to this organization. Information may be shared directly between members as deemed appropriate with the caveat that each has the responsibility to protect the confidence of the other party.

All information presented or offered among the membership will be accepted as accurate to be best knowledge of the provider unless accompanied by an admonition that it is unverified or is speculative.

Cooperation and Reciprocity

While the spirit of this organization is to provide an atmosphere which the members may freely and confidently exchange information to manage fraud attacks, there may be instances in which one member may not be able to divulge facts to another party. This may be due to legal restrictions or other causes which by necessity supersede the needs or desires of other parties. In these instances participating members may be required to withhold specific facts until such time when those restrictions might no longer apply.

Compliance with Law and Policy

Each member of this organization must ensure their compliance with the policies of their own organizations, industry regulations and the law of his respective municipality, state, Federal and government codes.

Enforcement

Any actual or suspected violation of any aspect of this Code shall be reported upon discovery to the President who will then conduct an investigation to determine the facts of the incident. Following that investigation, the President will call a meeting of the Board to review the incident and determine the appropriate action.

Such action might include but not be limited to a warning for the first offense depending on the circumstance and severity of the incident up to dismissal from the membership for a repeat occurrence and the lack of sound judgment by the offending party. Such a dismissal shall not be summarily executed without the concurrence of a quorum of the board.