- Short answer
- Per Shopify, Mastercard's ECP starts at 100 chargebacks and a 1.5% rate in the same month; you exit after 3 consecutive months below.
- Higher level
- Per Shopify, HECM starts at 300 chargebacks and a 3% rate in one month
- Fraud program
- EFM counts fraud chargebacks only; it doesn't apply in Germany, India or Switzerland
How does Mastercard place a store in the program?
The Excessive Chargeback Program (ECP) has two levels, ECM and HECM. Shopify's help page says a store enters when one month meets or exceeds both thresholds — for ECM, 100 chargebacks and a 1.5% rate. Mastercard divides the current month's chargebacks by the preceding month's captured payments.
The figures are Shopify's: Mastercard's rules manual of August 4, 2026 defers the ECM and HECM thresholds to a separate manual we didn't find published in October 2026.
What are the ECM, HECM and EFM thresholds and fines?
Mastercard programs (Shopify's figures)
| Program | Enters when, in one month | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| ECM | 100–299 chargebacks and a 1.5%–2.99% rate | $1,000 in month 2, up to $100,000 from month 19 |
| HECM | 300+ chargebacks and a 3% rate | $1,000 in month 2, up to $200,000 from month 19 |
| EFM | 1,000 payments, $50,000 fraud volume, 0.50% fraud rate (Australia: $15,000, 0.20%), 3DS at 10% or less (non-regulated countries) or 50% or less (regulated) | $500 in month 2, up to $100,000 from month 19 |
Shopify Help Center, read October 9, 2026. Fines in USD.
From month 4, ECM and HECM add $5 per chargeback after your 300th in a month.
Excessive Fraud Merchant (EFM) is separate: it counts only fraud chargebacks, needs all four criteria and doesn't apply in Germany, India or Switzerland. Shopify's EFM wording mixes "meet or exceed", "greater than" and "or more", so don't count on staying out exactly at a line.
For ECP, Mastercard's rules say Mastercard may assess the acquirer; Shopify warns you might "incur monthly fines" or, if the level isn't reduced, "lose the ability to process credit card payments". The Shopify chargeback help pages we read on October 9, 2026 don't say how a Mastercard fine reaches you. Visa's VAMP carries the same warning.
How do you get out of the program?
Per Shopify, Mastercard removes you once chargebacks drop below the threshold for 3 consecutive months; from HECM you first move to ECM if you still meet its threshold. What lowers the count is in how to prevent Shopify chargebacks.
Shopify may also act on your Shopify Payments account before you reach network-level limits if you show any of the risk practices Shopify lists.
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