Merchant category code

Four-digit number listed in ISO 18245 for retail financial services

A merchant category code (MCC) is a four-digit number used for retail financial services to classify a business by the types of goods or services it provides. Codes are specified by the ISO 18245 standard.

## Assignment of codes

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MCCs are assigned either by merchant type (e.g., one for hotels, one for office supply stores, etc.) or by merchant name (e.g., 3000 for United Airlines[1]) and is assigned to a merchant by a credit card company when the business first starts accepting that card as a form of payment.[2] The same business may code differently with different credit cards, and different sections or departments of a store may code differently.[3]

## Uses of codes

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An MCC reflects the primary category in which a merchant does business and may be used:

* to determine the interchange fee paid by the merchant, with riskier lines of business paying higher fees
* by credit card companies to offer cash back rewards or reward points for spending in specific categories[4][5]
* by card networks to define rules and restrictions for card transactions (for example, Automated Fuel Dispensers (MCC 5542) have specific rules for authorization and clearing messages[citation needed])
* for tax purposes, e.g., in the United States, to determine whether a payment is primarily for “services”, which needs to be reported by the payor to the Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes, or for “merchandise”, which does not[6]

## Code lookup tools

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There are multiple resources credit card users can consult to predict how credit card purchases with given vendors may be categorized. Examples include:

* "AwardWallet Merchant Lookup Tool". AwardWallet.
* "Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual" (PDF).
* "List of MCC codes in CSV, ODS, XLS formats". github. 24 August 2022.
* "An ISO 18245 python library for MCCs". github. 6 July 2022.

## See also

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* ISO 8583
* ISO 18245
* NAICS Code
* Standard Industrial Classification

## References

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1. ^ "Merchant Category Codes" (PDF). www.citibank.com. Citibank.
2. ^ "Merchant Category Codes" (PDF). usa.visa.com. USA: VISA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2007.
3. ^ Frankel, Robin Saks; El Issa, Erin (August 1, 2019). "Merchant Category Codes: Why They Matter for Credit Card Rewards". NerdWallet.
4. ^ "Welcome to AARP® Credit Card from Chase. Earn 3% Cash Back rewards on restaurant and gas station purchases (Terms)". Chase Bank. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
5. ^ "Credit card rewards that really add up". Discover IT. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
6. ^ "Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2004-31, Rev. Proc. 2004-43, Merchant Category Codes to Determine Reportable Payment Card Transactions". IRS.gov. USA: Internal Revenue Service. August 2, 2004.

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