Merchant Category Codes (MCC) are used to classify a merchant business by the type of product or service it sells, as opposed to what kind of legal structure is uses for instance. In other words, a MCC provides a pseudo-classification system for merchants. In some cases, businesses can have multiple MCC listings that correspond to different divisions of the business. For example, a retail store that sells computers might be assigned both an MCC for "retail stores" and an MCC for "computer stores."
All retailer merchants registered with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council that support or accept Visa credit cards must have a valid MCC on file. The MCC code is a four-digit numerical code assigned by the Processor to classify the type of goods or services provided by a merchant member.
The following MCCs relate to cryptocurrency merchants:
- 449910 - Mining Pool Entities
- 452910 - Virtual Currency Merchants and Exchangers 491110 - Direct Seller's Agents and Brokers
- 463110 - Check Cashing Institutions
- 516910 - Credit Card Issuers
The list above is not exhaustive. The MCCs include all of the mining, purchase, and virtual currency merchants registered with the PCI Security Standards Council. Not every centralized cryptocurrency service provider will register with the council. The following centralized cryptocurrency services are not listed in this article:
- Cryptographic software developers and distributors.
- Wallet developers that do not sell or facilitate the sale of virtual currency or provide payment processing for any other organization.
Merchant members within payment card brands are assigned a four-digit numeric MCC by the Processor. The payment card brands will not disclose their members’ merchant categories to non-members, including prospective merchants. To find an MCC, you must be logged in or registered with one of the payment card brands. The following are links to the PCI Security Standards Council websites for each brand:
MCC assignment is not limited to these brands. There are hundreds of payment card brands in the world and each will have its own policy for assigning merchant categories. The websites listed above were chosen because their policies allow prospective merchants to independently verify MCC assignments and supplement information that is available on this wiki article. Merchants who do not pass certain tests or fail to meet one or more of the requirements for MCC assignment will be assigned a "not available" code.
Merchant members who have been assigned an MCC can independently discover that same MCC by using their Merchant ID and calling the Processor with the appropriate request. The merchant membership number is a nine-digit numeric identifier assigned by the Processor to each merchant in the Brand Network. It is used in all network transactions, including callbacks and requests for category information. The MCC can be requested by calling or indirectly through a brand portal or third-party application. Some payment card brands require an additional "Transaction Identification Number" (TID) if requesting via a portal or application. The MCC and TID will be displayed on each terminal authorization request along with the Brand ID and Debit Transaction Processing (DTP) flag.
Once you have successfully parsed a payment card network response, it is possible to get an MCC from these responses:
- Authorization response messages issue 481 and 482 - Verification response message issue 483 - Payment response messages issue 490 through 494
Most or all of these responses will include the MCC, Brand ID, and TID if formatted properly. The payment card brands do not officially endorse any third-party applications but there are many available to choose from. From experience, it is recommended that merchants test multiple third-party applications with live transactions to determine which is the most reliable.
Merchant members who have been assigned an MCC can independently discover that same MCC by using their Merchant ID and calling the Processor with the appropriate request. The merchant membership number is a nine-digit numeric identifier assigned by the Processor to each merchant in the Brand Network. It is used in all network transactions, including callbacks and requests for category information. The MCC can be requested by calling or indirectly through a brand portal or third-party application. Some payment card brands require an additional "Transaction Identification Number" (TID) if requesting via a portal or application. The MCC and TID will be displayed on each terminal authorization request along with the Brand ID and Debit Transaction Processing (DTP) flag.
