If a card network declines your business registration after Get Paid enrollment, this article explains why it may have happened, what it means for your account, and what you can do next.
In this article
- How card network registration works
- Reasons a card network may decline your business
- What happens if one network declines your business
- What happens if all networks decline your business
- What you can do
How card network registration works
When you complete your Get Paid activation, Melio registers your business with card networks on your behalf. Each network — including Visa, Mastercard, and Amex — reviews your business independently and makes its own approval decision based on its own policies and requirements.
Approval from one network doesn't guarantee approval from another. Melio can't influence or appeal a network's decision.
Reasons a card network may decline your business
Card networks may decline a business registration for a number of reasons. The most common include:
- Industry or business type not supported — card networks maintain lists of industries and business types that aren't eligible for registration. This is based on the network's own policies.
- Incomplete or invalid business details — a network may decline your registration if required information is missing, incorrect, or doesn't match official records, including your tax ID, business name, or business address.
- Business location — card networks generally require that businesses be located in the United States. If your business address is outside the US, your registration may be declined.
- Review outcome — networks conduct their own review of businesses at the time of registration. A decline can occur based on the outcome of that review, independent of any action on your part.
What happens if one network declines your business
If a card network declines your business, payers using that network's cards won't be able to pay you. Your account remains active, and payers using cards on other networks and ACH bank transfers aren't affected.
For example, if Amex declines your registration, payers using Amex cards won't be able to complete payment to you. Payers using Visa, Mastercard, or Discover cards, and payers using bank transfers, can still pay you as normal.
What happens if all networks decline your business
If all card networks decline your registration, your account status reflects that your business couldn't be registered for card payments. Your account can't accept card payments from payers, but bank transfers aren't affected.
What you can do
- If your registration was declined, you can review and update your business information in the company Settings section of the Settings page.
- If your registration was declined due to your industry, business type, or business location, this reflects the network's own policy and isn't something you can change.
Card network decisions are made independently and can't be escalated or appealed by Melio.