Merchant Category Code (MCC): Lookup, Common Codes and Chargeback Risk

A merchant category code (MCC) is a four-digit number that tells card networks and banks what your business mainly sells. Your acquirer assigns it. The code shapes your fees, which cards approve you, and how closely your disputes are watched.

This guide shows how to look up your MCC, which codes are high-risk, and how to fix a wrong one.

What Is a Merchant Category Code (MCC)?

An MCC is a four-digit code that classifies a merchant by its main type of business. The code values come from ISO 18245, the standard for retail financial services. Its current edition was published in February 2023.

Visa, Mastercard and other networks carry the code in card authorization and clearing messages. Networks and issuers use it to price, approve and report the sale. So the same customer and the same card can get a different result at a grocery store than at a casino.

An MCC is not your merchant ID (MID). Your MID identifies your account alone. Many merchants share one MCC, such as 5411 for grocery stores.

MCCs also have a tax history in the US. IRS Revenue Procedure 2004-43 used them to sort card purchases into services and goods for information reporting. It relied on codes already assigned by the payment card organizations, so the IRS adopted MCCs rather than inventing them.

Who Assigns Your MCC?

Your acquirer assigns your MCC, not you. The Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual (October 2026 edition) makes it an acquirer duty to give each merchant the correct code. If you are unsure who your acquirer is, see how a merchant acquirer differs from a payment processor.

Visa sets these rules for picking the code:

• Primary business: use the code that best describes your main business.
• More than one line: use the code of your highest-sales line for all Visa sales, or a separate code per line.
• Each website: a site that sells distinct goods or services needs the code that fits that site.
• Miscellaneous codes: codes usually ending in 99 are for when no specific code fits.
• High-risk lines: a high-integrity risk line of business must carry its own high-risk code.

If you sell through a payment service provider, it sets the code during onboarding. Stripe says the industry you select generally decides your MCC. If that fails, it checks your website. As a last resort, it uses the platform's code or its default, 5734 (Computer Software Stores).

Stripe gives each account exactly one MCC. It may also change your code after a review, and a platform cannot override that change. If you run two very different lines on Stripe, plan for two accounts.

How Do I Find My Merchant Category Code (MCC Lookup)?

Check your provider records first. They show the code your acquirer actually assigned, which a public list cannot.

A test purchase on your own card can also help. Some issuer apps show a spending category, but that label is the issuer's, so confirm the code with your provider.

MCC List: What Are the Most Common Merchant Category Codes?

The MCC list runs from 0001 to 9999, grouped in ranges by industry. Stripe's MCC guide summarizes the ranges like this:

These are the codes online sellers see most. The names follow Mastercard's Quick Reference Booklet (June 2026 edition).

Merchants also search for the codes below. The descriptions use common network wording. Check each network manual for its exact name.

Are MCC Codes the Same on Every Network?

The numbers follow ISO 18245, but the names and rules differ by network. For 5967, Visa uses the name Adult Content and Services. Mastercard still uses Direct Marketing: Inbound Telemarketing Merchants. For 7995, Visa says Betting and Mastercard says Gambling Transactions.

So read your code in each network's own manual. A third-party list may use an outdated name.

Which MCC Should My Online Store Use?

Use the code for the line that brings in most of your sales. Your acquirer makes the final call, so treat this table as a shortlist to confirm with it.

Example: A Beauty Brand Adds a Trial Subscription (Illustrative)

A beauty brand sells single products under 5977. It then launches a box with a free first month that rolls into a paid monthly plan. That model is negative option billing.

Visa treats negative option subscriptions as a Tier 3 high-integrity risk line, coded 5968. Mastercard registers negative option billing for physical products as a specialty category. So the brand tells its acquirer before launch and expects registration. The box gets its own code, and one-off sales stay on 5977.

Which MCC Codes Are High-Risk?

High-risk MCCs are codes that card networks make acquirers register before they process card-absent sales. Visa calls them high-integrity risk codes. Mastercard runs a Specialty Merchant Registration Program.

Under Visa's Integrity Risk Program, launched in 2023 to replace the Global Brand Protection Program, acquirers must hold High Integrity Risk Acquirer Registration first. Then they register each merchant. Visa groups the categories into three tiers by type of harm.

Mastercard's Security Rules and Procedures (August 2026 edition) require prior consent and registration for its specialty categories. Registration fees and noncompliance assessments apply. Chapter 9 of that manual names the MCC for each category, and the table below follows it.

Mastercard also registers government-owned lotteries (7800 in the US, 9406 elsewhere) and, in Canada only, recreational cannabis. Registration happens before processing starts. If you sell a registrable product, your acquirer needs to know before you launch it.

Not every acquirer takes these merchants. A high-risk payment service provider is often the route, often with a high-risk merchant account that may carry reserves.

How Does Your MCC Affect Fees, Approvals and Disputes?

Your MCC affects six things: pricing, approvals, rewards, registration, monitoring and dispute exposure.

Interchange pricing. Some interchange fee programs depend on merchant type. In Visa's US interchange schedule effective October 24, 2026, a card-present Visa Infinite spend-qualified credit sale costs 1.65% + $0.05 under Supermarket Credit Tier 0. Under Retail Credit Performance Threshold I it costs 2.30% + $0.10.

Card and issuer blocks. Issuers and companies can block whole MCCs. Corporate cards often allow travel codes and block entertainment. Stripe notes that some card-issuing programs must block high-risk codes such as gambling.

Rewards. Card rewards follow the MCC. A grocery seller coded outside 5411 can leave customers without the grocery points they expected. That can lead to complaints.

Registration and monitoring. High-integrity risk codes add registration and acquirer control checks. For Visa Tier 1 and Tier 2, that means an initial control assessment, periodic reassessments and a yearly self-assessment.

Dispute exposure. Whatever your code, the Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP) counts fraud reports and disputes toward your ratio, and network chargeback thresholds apply. High-risk codes add closer acquirer review. Stripe notes they can also carry higher chargeback fees. A code that does not match what customers bought also feeds "I don't recognize this" disputes.

MCC Impact Matrix

Use this matrix to see where your code group sits. It summarizes the network rules above; your acquirer's terms decide the details.

Lower your dispute exposure whatever your code. Match your MCC with a clear billing descriptor, and resolve claims before they become chargebacks.

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What Happens If Your MCC Is Wrong?

A wrong MCC can cause declines, pricing errors and forced corrections. If the error hides a high-risk line, it can end in account termination.

Honest mistakes are fixable. Visa reserves the right to require corrections. It recommends that acquirers review codes regularly. Stripe may update a code after a review.

Mismatches can also lead a processor to hold funds, as with a Shopify Payments suspension.

Why Miscoding to Look Lower-Risk Backfires

Some sellers hope a milder code will avoid high-risk pricing. Network rules make this a losing bet:

• Visa requires a high-integrity risk line to carry its own high-risk code.
• Visa can require the acquirer to limit or end your merchant agreement.
• Mastercard charges noncompliance assessments for unregistered specialty merchants.
• Terminated merchants can be listed on the Mastercard MATCH list or Visa's VMSS, which most processors screen.

Visa's VMSS reason code 23, transaction laundering, covers misrepresenting the source of transactions. MATCH has codes for laundering and for violation of standards. Per Stripe's terminated merchant file docs, listings stay active for 5 years.

If a product line is high-risk, register it and price it honestly. A recoded account rarely lasts through a processor review.

How Do I Fix or Change My MCC?

You request the change; your acquirer or processor makes it. Expect them to check your website and product mix first.

After any switch, run a few test orders across your credit card transaction types, from authorization to refund.

If disputes rise after a code change, act early. Chargeback alerts let you refund a disputed order before it becomes a chargeback.

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Preguntas frecuentes

How do I find my merchant category code?

Check your merchant statement, your processor account or ask your acquirer. On Stripe the code follows your selected industry. Use a lookup tool only to decode the number.

Can I choose or change my own MCC?

You cannot assign it yourself. You can request a change from your acquirer or processor, and it is granted if your business qualifies.

What is merchant category code 5411?

MCC 5411 covers grocery stores and supermarkets. Card rewards for groceries usually depend on this code.

What is merchant category code 5815?

MCC 5815 covers digital goods such as ebooks, movies and music. Games use 5816 and apps use 5817.

What is MCC 5999?

MCC 5999 is Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Stores. Visa says miscellaneous codes are only for businesses with no specific code.

Which MCC codes are high-risk?

Visa lists codes such as 5967, 7995, 5122, 5912, 5993, 7273 and 5966 for card-absent sales. 4816, 6051, 5816, 6211 and 5968 count in certain cases. Mastercard registers similar categories.

Can a business have more than one MCC?

Yes, under Visa rules. You can use your highest-sales code for all sales or a separate code per line. A high-integrity risk line must have its own code. Stripe allows one MCC per account, so a second line needs a second account.

Are MCC 5816, 6051 and 6012 high-risk?

Only in certain cases. Visa treats 5816 as high-integrity risk for skill game wagering. It treats 6051 and 6012 that way for crypto merchants using special condition code 7. Mastercard registers crypto under 6051 and skill games under 7994.

Is an MCC the same as a merchant ID?

No. Your merchant ID identifies your account alone. An MCC describes your business type and is shared by many merchants.

What is MCC 7399?

MCC 7399 covers business services that are not classified elsewhere. It is a catch-all code, so ask your acquirer for a more specific code if one fits your business.

What is MCC 5499?

MCC 5499 covers miscellaneous food stores, such as convenience stores and specialty markets. Supermarkets use 5411 instead.

What is the difference between MCC 5812 and 5814?

MCC 5812 covers eating places and restaurants. MCC 5814 covers fast food restaurants. Card rewards for dining often treat the two codes differently.

Keep Your MCC Matched to What You Sell

Treat your MCC as a living setting, not a one-time form field. Check it when your products change, and keep high-risk lines registered and separate. A correct code keeps your pricing fair, approvals steady and disputes easier to defend.

Last reviewed: November 10, 2026.