Here’s a detailed list of Merchant Category Codes (MCC). The list spells out both Visa and Mastercard categories, and where they differ.
MCC Codes For Visa/Mastercard (pdf) | Visa (pdf) | Mastercard (pfd)
The document comes from Citibank based on how they code it in conjunction with Visa and Mastercard. My assumption is that Visa and Mastercard use the same codes for all banks. (The direct link from Citibank is here, I saved the PDF to the site for posterity.)
We’ve long known about the Visa Supplier Locator which gives this kind of MCC data; I don’t believe there has ever been publicly available information on how Mastercard codes and where they differ until now. (Note, the Visa Supplier Locator is presumably kept up to date while the info in this document is subject to change over time.)
This Citibank document was discovered by Reddit user Econ0mist, and reader KS supplied the Visa and Mastercard links. The vast majority of the MCC code are the same for Visa and Mastercard. u/Economist makes the astute observation that there are various categories within the Financial sector which only exist in Mastercard’s book and not in Visa’s.
Specifically, code 6050 “Quasi Cash–Member Financial Institution” is only used by Mastercard, and skipped by Visa. It might be that there are certain transactions that Visa codes as cash advance – and thus don’t have a credit MCC – whereas Mastercard codes them as a purchase. We’ve seen, for example, that Plastiq is able to accept Mastercard for mortgage payments and not Visa. Other things like bank funding might occasionally be dependent on this category as well, making Mastercard slightly more ideal when attempting a bank-related transaction.
I also noticed that Mastercard has an extra Gambling category over Visa – 9754 – for “Gambling-Horse, Dog Racing, State Lottery”. There are also a few things Visa has which don’t exist with Mastercard, such 9700 “Automated Referral Service” (whatever that means).
View Comments (14)
interestingly, a couple local bubble tea shops which code as 5814 Restaurants/Bar using the Visa Supplier Location are credited under "Groceries" instead of "Food & drink" on my Chase Sapphire Reserve Statement, denying me the bonus rewards. According to the MCC, Groceries should code as 5411.
This is an extremely useful reference. Is there a similar document for Amex ? I was quite bummed that my local Kroger subsidiary grocery superstore (so not Walmart or Target) was coded as Groceries on my Visa card, but it was coded as Merchandise & Supplies - Wholesale Stores on my Amex card. Wasn't sure if the code or category is different or the store happened to have list different code depending on the card used. It just doesn't make sense.
DIRECT LINKS
VISA:
https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/visa-merchant-data-standards-manual.pdf
MASTERCARD:
https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/en-us/documents/rules/quick-reference-booklet-merchant-edition.pdf
CITIBANK:
https://www.citibank.com/tts/solutions/commercial-cards/assets/docs/govt/Merchant-Category-Codes.pdf
USDA.GOV
https://www.dm.usda.gov/procurement/card/card_x/mcc.pdf
IRS.GOV
https://www.irs.gov/irb/2004-31_IRB#d0e1647
I never understood why some categories like airlines and hotels have specific brand names as categories rather than just airfare or hotel. Any ideas why they break out those categories into brands?
Was wondering about that as well
this seems simple to me: it'll allow branded cards to earn at higher rates when used for a specific brand name...
Given the transaction does identify the vendor, the MCC seems redundant..
You're probably not a programmer😉
You spelled it out. lol, exactly what I meant :) it just seem like a reasonable enough system to allow for easy technical programming.
It's super interesting to see how non-programming churners see "systems" and can get confused- given that churners are amazing at spotting and understanding systems. It's honestly the most curious paradox I've yet to see in this community. There COULD be several reasons for the cause of the redundancy some may very well even be legal.. but technical seems the most obvious.
Another interesting point @lrdx is the fact that if it were a fool-proof system to do as you suggest, you would essentially eliminate the entire direct deposit loophole as they often have the legal name. I doubt searching through the string of the transaction is an appropriate or proper method to categorize ANYTHING. Alas, this is most likely internal information.
We'll never know.
yeah..these docs have been available online...since quite some time....below are a couple more....that I refer to as needed...
https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/mccom/en-us/documents/rules/quick-reference-booklet-merchant-edition.pdf
https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/visa-merchant-data-standards-manual.pdf
Good links, I'll add those.
I've always used this document, but that's only for VISA:
https://www.dm.usda.gov/procurement/card/card_x/mcc.pdf
Super useful. Thanks, @chucksithe.
Thanks for this useful document.
Note to self: switch out the card I use to finance my dog racing pyramid scheme...