Merchant Category Code (MCC)

A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number used to classify businesses primarily by the type of goods or services they provide. Card associations like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover use MCCs to categorize and monitor merchant transactions. When a business starts accepting credit card payments, it is assigned an MCC by the acquiring bank based on its primary service or product offering.

Key Uses of MCCs Include:

It’s important to note that MCCs are often linked with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, but they are not the same. SIC codes are used more broadly by various institutions for statistical classification of all major economic sectors. While similar, MCCs are specifically used within the credit card processing industry and can sometimes provide more detailed insight into the nature of the business.

Understanding a business’s MCC is important for merchants, as it affects many aspects of their financial transactions, from the fees they pay to the rules about what types of credit card transactions they can accept.