Merchant category code

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A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number listed in ISO 18245 for retail financial services. An MCC is used to classify a business by the types of goods or services it provides.

Contents

Assignment of MCCs

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 MCCs

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

MCC lookup tools

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

See also

Related Research Articles

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Apple Wallet, is a digital wallet developed by Apple Inc. and included with iOS and watchOS that allows users to store Wallet passes such as coupons, boarding passes, student ID cards, government ID cards, business credentials, resort passes, car keys, home keys, event tickets, public transportation passes, store cards, and – starting with iOS 8.1 – credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards for use via Apple Pay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Pay (payment method)</span> Mobile payments platform developed by Google

Google Pay is a mobile payment service developed by Google to power in-app, online, and in-person contactless purchases on mobile devices, enabling users to make payments with Android phones, tablets, or watches. Users can authenticate via a PIN, passcode, or biometrics such as 3D face scanning or fingerprint recognition.

References

  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.