A merchant category code is the four-digit code a card network uses to classify a business, and it decides which bonus points a purchase earns.
A merchant category code is the four-digit code a card network uses to classify a business, and it decides which bonus points a purchase earns.
Also called: MCC.
How it works#
The code is assigned by the merchant’s payment processor, not by the card and not by the customer. That is why a restaurant inside a department store may earn no dining points and a filling station with a grocery shop no fuel points. Anyone relying on bonus categories tests the code with a small purchase rather than trusting the shop’s name, since the statement shows what actually counted.
Not to be confused with#
A merchant category code is not the same as a card’s bonus category: the bonus category is the issuer’s promise, the merchant code is the technical fact that decides whether the promise applies.
In German#
The German term is Händlerkategorie. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Bonus category: A bonus category is an area of spending where a card credits more points per unit of spend than its base rate, such as travel or restaurants.
- Interchange fee: An interchange fee is the share of a card payment that the merchant’s bank pays to the card issuer, and it is what funds points programmes.
- Shopping portal: A shopping portal is a programme-run page used to start an online purchase so that points are credited on top of what the card itself earns.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onCards and money.