Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number identifying the business classification depending on what type of products or services are provided by the merchant company. Here’s a list of typical categories which acquirers and payment providers treat as high risk, imposing stricter approval terms and higher processing fees.
Listed categories are known to generate higher chargeback disputes and fraud, as well as raise overall brand reputation risks. In addition, there are specific MCC types for which the Card Associations (Visa, MasterCard) have established regulations by which the merchant has to be registered with them for the purpose of risk monitoring.
MCC in red – registration is required with Card Associations.
4722 Travel Agencies and Tour OperatorsTravel arrangements, tours, charters
4812 Telecom Sales and EquipmentTelecommunication devices
4814 Telecom ServicesTelecommunication services
4816 Computer Network ServicesInternet service providers
4829 Wire Transfers and Money Orders
5122 Drugs, Proprietaries & Sundries
5912 Drug Stores and Pharmacies
5962 Direct Marketing – Travel Includes discount clubs
5964 Direct Marketing – CatalogMail and telephone orders
5966 Direct Marketing – OutboundMail and telephone orders
5967 Direct Marketing – Inbound
5967 Direct Marketing – InboundTelesevices, audio & videotext
5968 Direct Marketing – SubscriptionRecurring subscriptions
5969 Direct Marketing – OtherRadio and TV sales
5993 Cigars, TobaccoIncludes stands
7021 TimesharesRentals, leases and sales
7273 Adult Dating and EscortVarious dating services
7841 Video Tape Rental StoresAdult content
7922 Ticketing AgenciesSecondary ticketing
7994 Video Games and ArcadesSkill Games requires registration
7995 Betting and Casino GamblingOnline casino, lottery, wagers
9399 Government ServicesState Lottery Requires Registration
here are the Visa and Master MCC codes
Vibhu Arya is a fintech and payments expert with 15+ years of experience simplifying how money moves across digital and retail ecosystems. He’s led strategy and partnerships at Citibank, Adyen, and IKEA, and helped scale fintech startups (Snapdeal, iPaylinks) to $1B+ valuations. Vibhu’s expertise spans cards, crypto, cross-border, and real-time payments. He is the founder of PaymentsPedia.com, where he writes about the future of payments.
vibhu@paymentspedia.com | LinkedIn