{"id":2879,"date":"2022-01-25T15:02:29","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T15:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccbill.com\/kb\/?p=2879"},"modified":"2023-03-06T09:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T09:09:09","slug":"mcc-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccbill.com\/kb\/mcc-code","title":{"rendered":"Merchant Category Codes (MCC Codes) Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Card associations, payment service providers<\/a>, and banks work together to protect cardholders, prevent payment disputes, and help businesses reduce liability risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They use merchant category codes (MCCs) to facilitate early payment fraud<\/a> detection, risk management and enforce local and international regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every merchant is awarded an MCC before they can start accepting card payments<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Merchant Category Codes <\/strong>and find out how they impact your payment processing fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Various<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is an MMC - Merchant Category Code?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Merchant Category Code (MCC)<\/strong> is a four-digit number<\/strong> that categorizes businesses based on the types of products and services they offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) classifies business activities into hundreds of merchant categories. Each category has an associated Merchant Category Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merchant Category Code examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MCC<\/th>Merchant Category Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
4186<\/td>Computer Network\/Information Services (Web Design)<\/td><\/tr>
5967<\/td>Direct Marketing - Inbound Telemarketing Merchants<\/td><\/tr>
5999<\/td>Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Store<\/td><\/tr>
7273<\/td>Dating Services<\/td><\/tr>
7299<\/td>Miscellaneous Personal Services<\/td><\/tr>
5815<\/td>Digital Goods: Books, Movies (Educational), Music<\/td><\/tr>
5499<\/td>Miscellaneous Food Stores - Convenience Stores,
Markets, Specialty Stores, and Vending Machines<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discovery, etc.) maintain their own MCC lists based on the ISO standard code values. Card brands regularly update their MCC lists by adding new codes, removing obsolete MCCs, and updating guidelines based on the latest risk assessments. They also impose processing rules and restrictions for individual merchant categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The merchant's bank or PSP awards the merchant an MCC according to the rules outlined by their partner card network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Are MCC Codes Used?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A merchant category code informs participants in the payment process about the merchant\u2019s core business model. MCCs are important because some merchant categories are more susceptible to fraud and have higher chargeback rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial institutions, PSPs, and card networks use MCC to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n