Library · MIDs · Calculator on this page
MIDs
Get, keep, and load-balance merchant accounts so volume has somewhere to live. Ask the processor in writing before you sign.
MCC on the MID
GuideThe MCC on the MID is the code Visa and the acquirer will use. Continuity belongs on 5968 unless the acquirer wrote a different story. Do not hide autoship on grocery.
| MCC | Risk | Typical use | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
5411 Grocery stores, supermarkets | Low | Retail grocery | Low interchange risk. A nutra brand on 5411 is an MCC mismatch waiting for a shutdown. |
5691 Men’s and women’s clothing stores | Low | Apparel retail / DTC clothing | Legitimate clothing can live here. Cross-selling a continuity vitamin on the same MID is the problem. |
5732 Electronics stores | Low | Consumer electronics | Low if the goods match the descriptor. High-ticket CNP fraud still exists; that is a reason-code problem, not MCC. |
5812 Eating places, restaurants | Low | Restaurants | Card-present heavy. Do not park a subscription offer on a restaurant MID. |
5499 Miscellaneous food stores | Elevated | Specialty food, some nutraceutical retail | Acquirers argue about this one. Better than 5968 if the offer is truly one-shot retail food. Still not a free pass. |
5912 Drug stores and pharmacies | Elevated | OTC / pharmacy | Licensing and card-brand pharmacy rules sit on top of MCC. Rx vs OTC is underwriting, not a code you pick in a form. |
5815 Digital goods — books, movies, music | Elevated | Paid media downloads | Digital goods. Card-absent, immediate fulfillment, high CNP fraud. 3DS and descriptor matter more than for a sweater. |
5816 Digital goods — games | High-risk | Games, in-app, some info products | High-risk digital. Caps, reserves, and CB programs are usually stricter than physical retail. |
5817 Digital goods — applications | High-risk | Software / SaaS-ish digital | Same digital-goods pile. Recurring billing on this MCC still needs a continuity story on the application. |
5966 Direct marketing — outbound telemarketing | High-risk | Outbound phone sales | Visa/Mastercard treat outbound telesales as high-risk. Many acquirers will not write it. |
5967 Direct marketing — inbound teleservices | High-risk | Inbound phone / TV-to-phone | Inbound is not automatically safer. Still a monitored direct-marketing code. |
5968 Direct marketing — continuity / subscription | High-risk | Continuity, autoship, memberships billed on a cycle | The code most subscription offers actually belong on. Higher reserves, tighter CB programs, more underwriting questions. Do not hide this as 5999. |
5969 Direct marketing — other | High-risk | Other direct-to-consumer mail/online that is not 5968 | Catch-all direct marketing. Acquirers still price it as high-risk. |
5993 Cigar stores and stands | High-risk | Tobacco / nicotine retail | Restricted category. Age-gating and card-brand tobacco rules sit beside MCC. |
5999 Miscellaneous and specialty retail | Elevated | “Other retail” when nothing else fits | Overused as a hiding place. If the offer is continuity, 5968 is the honest code — 5999 will not save a mismatch review. |
6051 Non-financial institutions — foreign currency, money orders, stored value | High-risk | Quasi-cash, stored value | Not a product MCC. Quasi-cash is monitored. Do not invent this for a supplement brand. |
7273 Dating services | High-risk | Dating / adult-adjacent | High CB, high-risk acquiring. Recurring memberships compound MID pressure. |
7995 Betting, including lottery tickets | High-risk | Gambling | Often prohibited or specialized acquiring only. Not a code you “try.” |
5122 Drugs, drug proprietaries, druggists’ sundries | High-risk | Wholesale drugs / some nutra supply | Wholesale drug MCC. Brand-site retail nutra usually should not live here. |
4722 Travel agencies and tour operators | Elevated | Travel | Delayed delivery = delayed CB. Different clock than a shipped bottle. |
A merchant account is where next week’s volume has to live. Identity on the application — legal entity, DBA, descriptor, MCC — is what Visa and the acquirer will use. Continuity belongs on 5968 unless the acquirer wrote a different story. Do not hide autoship on grocery.
The code is not the whole boarding job. The ISO deck is not the contract. Before you sign, you need the acquiring bank, the reserve, what they do when you trip a program, what prevention they require, the exit charge, the caps, and which history they will take — in writing.
When the backup MID kicks in is a written flip rule — not a count of spare accounts. Kick-in vs hide-the-ratio: backup vs load balance. Underwriting pack is what high-risk underwriters ask for before a MID exists — including personal guarantee status.
Ask before you board
Bank. Legal name of the acquiring bank. If they only name an ISO or a PayFac brand, you do not know who holds the license.
Reserve. Percent, hold, release. We do not fill a typical number. Their clause or you wait.
Program policy. What they do at VAMP or ECM, or at the line in this agreement. Who pays. Extra reserve. Dump. Do not paste a percent from a blog.
Prevention they require. RDR, alerts, 3DS as a condition of boarding. Ask whether a worked case sits in primary.
Term and exit. Months and early termination dollars. Caps on day one. History they will actually take.
Tick a row in the applications checklist further down when the answer is written. Do not board with holes.
What to do
Look up the MCC in the tool above. Send the seven questions. Read the merchant processing agreement against the ticks. Enroll RDR, Ethoca, CDRN, Order Insight, and 3DS per account after you live, not as a brand checkbox.
Where the volume goes
A second account is not a lucky number. Say why next week’s dollars sit on more than one account.
Caps and failover. Same offer, told to the acquirer, because one account cannot take the dollars. That is load balance.
Hide the ratio. Same offer, split so no account looks hot. That is hiding the ratio. Even leftover cap does not change the intent.
Different offers. Each account is a different MCC, entity, or descriptor, applied as itself. Hiding autoship on grocery is still a MATCH problem.
Add named accounts in the allocation calculator further down. Type the volume and the cap. Tick Told the acquirer only if they know. We do not fill a sample split.
MATCH is a letter, not a lookup
You cannot search MATCH yourself. Write the acquiring bank. Ask for the listing ICA, the reason code, who added you, and the date. Invoke 7 calendar days for questions. If you want off, invoke 30 calendar days for a removal answer. Attach the termination if you have it. Tick the letter parts further down when they are in the email. How long the file stays searchable: MATCH duration — about five years, then purge; waiting is not the removal path.
When to leave a PayFac
Type this month’s volume and both percents. Extra fees and the exit charge can stay blank. History on a PayFac usually dies when you leave. Tick a transfer only if they wrote one. If the platform is dumping you, leave even when the blend looks cheap. There is no $50k slogan on this page.
Pair: Ask a high-risk processor in writing. Load balance vs hiding a chargeback ratio. Ask the acquirer about MATCH in writing. Who holds the seat under a PayFac: sponsor bank vs PayFac. ISV registration path: ISV → PayFac. Who signs the personal guarantee. When to leave a PayFac. Put the DBA on the statement, not the LLC. Working phone/URL on that line: descriptor phone / URL. Rebill soft line vs checkout: rebill descriptor drift. Soft-line match vs statement: descriptor match rate. Turn +1 approval point into settled cash.
Applications
GuideQuestions to get in writing before you sign a high-risk processor
High-risk MIDs often need a PG. The LLC does not erase it. Filter the claim. Get who signs — or written “no PG.”
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLC means no personal guarantee | No. High-risk boarding commonly still requires owner PG | Who signs, or written “no PG” from this underwriter | Tell underwriting the LLC blocks PG |
| PG is only a formality — they never collect | PG is real liability for losses, reserves, and related charges the form lists | What the PG form covers on this deal | Sign unread because the ISO said it is standard |
| Only the CEO must sign | Banks set beneficial-owner rules. A second owner or spouse may be required | This bank’s signature rule | Assume one signature covers every owner |
| No PG is the default if they did not mention it | Silence is not “no PG.” Get the skip in writing or expect the form | Explicit “no PG” sentence — or the PG form | Board on a sales call that never said PG |
| PG removes me from MATCH risk | No. PG is liability for money. MATCH is a member file | N/A — different job | Trade a PG for a MATCH myth |
| This page is the underwriting pack | No. The pack lists document holes. This map is the liability ask | N/A — tick PG status on the pack after you know who signs | Skip the pack because you read the PG myths |
Statements must match volume and entity. Filter the claim. We do not invent a month count — send what they asked.
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any six months of PDFs will do | No. Months must be for this entity and fit the volume story | How many months this underwriter asked for | Send a partner’s account or random personal PDFs |
| Personal statements clear a new LLC | Usually no — they want the business account. Exception only if written | Whether personal is accepted for this brand-new entity | Assume personal always works for day-one LLCs |
| Volume on the app can exceed deposits | No. Deposits have to support the volume and ticket you typed | N/A — correct the application or explain the gap in writing | Hope they skip the PDF page |
| I can omit thin months | No. Gaps and thin months are the point of the ask | Full consecutive months they requested | Photoshop or drop bad months |
| Prior processor history does not need to show on the bank | If you claim prior volume, deposits should show processor / PayFac settlement | Which deposits are processing settlement | Claim history with empty bank months |
| This page is the underwriting pack | No. The pack ticks whether statements are ready. This map is why they ask | N/A — tick the pack after the PDFs match | Skip matching because the pack box is checked |
Tick what you can send today. Unchecked is why underwriting stalls. Boxes start off. Personal guarantee is often required — not optional fine print.
Holes: Legal entity docs ready, Beneficial owners + government ID, Personal guarantee status written, 3–6 months business bank statements, Processing history / prior statements, Voided check or bank letter, Offer / fulfillment / cancel policy proof, MCC matches the offer, Projected volume + average ticket written, CB / refund history disclosed.
Tick a row when you have the answer in writing. Unchecked is a hole. We do not fill a typical reserve.
Holes: Acquiring bank named, Reserve in writing, Program policy in writing, Prevention they require, Term and early termination, Caps at boarding, History they will take.
Health
CalculatorWhen to leave a PayFac: cost crossover and whether history transfers
Type this month’s volume and both percents. Extra fees and the exit charge can stay blank. Blank is zero. History starts off. We do not fill a $50k slogan.
Type volume and both percents. Extra fees and the exit charge can stay blank. Tick history only if they wrote a transfer. Tick dump only if this platform is ending the account.
Caps
Not on this page yetDaily/monthly utilization, days-to-blow
No calculator on this section yet.
Approvals
Calculator+1 point in settled dollars. Cap and the chargeback line still apply.
Type monthly attempts, settled AOV, and the lift in points. We do not fill a volume or a dollar AOV. The account still has to take the extra sales.
Type attempts, settled AOV, and lift. We do not fill a book of attempts or a ticket. Extra sales still need cap and chargeback room.
Descriptors
GuideDBA on the statement. Soft vs hard. Mismatch files unrecognized chargebacks.
Working CS path on the statement line. Dead numbers still file. Distinct from DBA checklist and soft-vs-hard.
| Claim | Reality | Do | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correct DBA is enough — phone can be dead | No. Cardholders call the printed number first | Test the number answers as this DBA | Ship a voicemail black hole |
| Any marketing URL is fine | No. Expired UTMs and 404s lose the call | Stable page that names the charge + CS path | Print a campaign link that dies next week |
| IVR for a different brand is OK | No. Wrong-brand answer still looks like fraud | Same DBA greeting on phone and site | Park competitor support on your line |
| Changing only the phone skips alert remap | No. String change still stales seats that key the line | Same-day remap on the re-enroll sheet | Leave Ethoca on the old phone fragment |
| This map is the DBA vs LLC checklist | No. Billing-descriptor is what name to print. This map is phone/URL | N/A — open billing-descriptor for DBA rules | Skip the working path because the DBA is right |
| This map is soft vs hard mechanics | No. Soft-vs-hard is how the string is set. This map is contact path | N/A — open descriptor-soft-vs-hard for that fork | Confuse contact rules with soft/hard approval |
Tick a row when it is true on this merchant account. Unchecked is how unrecognized chargebacks start. We do not fill a character cap.
Holes: Statement line is the DBA they already know, Legal LLC is not on the statement, Soft line and hard name tell the same story, Phone or URL on the statement actually answers, CS greets as that same DBA, Shared lines only when shoppers know that one name, Changes go through the acquirer in writing.
Type rebills and soft/hard mismatches. We invent no dispute rate.
Type rebills and mismatches.
Type orders and soft-descriptor mismatches. We invent no match %.
Type orders and mismatches.
Enrollment
Not on this page yetAlerts, RDR, 3DS, account updater — per MID
No calculator on this section yet.
Allocation
GuideWhere next week’s volume goes
Written kick-in is failover. Splitting to calm a ratio is hiding. Filter the claim. Spare MID alone is neither.
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two MIDs means I have a backup | No. Backup needs a written kick-in — cap, CB floor, never-flip | The flip rule for this spare | Call a folder of IDs a failover plan |
| Even leftover cap proves clean load balance | No. Even leftover can still hide a hot ratio | Why the split exists — and that the acquirer was told | Trust pretty utilization as intent |
| Always sending 30% to the spare is kick-in | No. That is a standing split. Kick-in fires on a trigger | What event moves volume — and what never flips | Rename a permanent slice as failover |
| Hard fraud can ride the backup to save the sale | No. Never-flip list. Hopping dead cards buys chargebacks | Never-flip families on this sheet | Open the spare for pick-up or confirmed fraud |
| This map is the kick-in checklist | No. Kick-in ticks the written parts. This map separates backup vs hide | N/A — open kick-in when writing the rule | Skip the sheet because you named the fork |
| This map types leftover cap | No. Volume allocation types caps and leftover. This map is intent | N/A — open volume allocation for the numbers | Hide a ratio and call it backup math |
Tick what is written for when the backup takes traffic. Unchecked means you only own a spare MID. Boxes start off.
Holes: Primary and backup MID named, Cap % that flips traffic, CB headroom floor written, Decline families that may route, Never-flip list written, Backup’s own cap named, Owner of the flip named.
Say why the volume is split. Add named accounts. We do not fill a sample split, and we do not tell you how many accounts is lucky.
None selected. Caps you disclosed is not the same job as hiding a ratio.
Pick why the volume is on more than one account.
Processor ops
GuideWrite the MATCH letter: listing ICA, reason code, 7-day questions, 30-day removal
On a PayFac the sponsor bank holds the network seat. The brand is not the bank. Filter the claim.
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| The PayFac brand is the acquiring bank | No. The PayFac is the platform. The sponsor bank is the network member | Legal name of the sponsor / acquiring bank under this PayFac | Mail bank letters to a marketing inbox |
| Sponsor bank and acquiring bank are two different files here | In this PayFac model they name the same member seat — the bank that sponsors the facilitator | One legal bank name on the boarding paper | Invent a second ‘secret’ bank because a slide used two labels |
| MATCH letters go to the PayFac support desk | MATCH is member-to-member. Write the acquiring / sponsor bank | Where MATCH inquiries for this platform are answered | Stop after a PayFac ticket says ‘we will look into it’ |
| My sub-merchant history is mine to take | Usually no — aging sits under the PayFac / bank stack unless they wrote a transfer | Whether statements and history transfer if you leave | Assume history walks with you to a direct MID |
| If they hide the bank, the blend still proves the seat | No. Hidden bank means you cannot file MATCH or take history later | Bank name before you board — same as processor questions | Sign because the dashboard rate looks cheap |
| This page tells me when to leave the PayFac | No. Cost and dump math sit on the leave-PayFac page | N/A — different job | Use this map as a $50k graduation slogan |
Registering as a PayFac means boarding sub-merchants under a sponsor bank. Filter the claim. Not leave-PayFac.
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using a PayFac API means we are a PayFac | No. That is someone else’s registration. You are still a platform customer or connector | Whether you are listed as a registered facilitator under a sponsor bank | Market yourself as a PayFac without registration |
| Becoming a PayFac is the same as leaving one as a seller | No. Leaving is a sub-merchant exit. Registering is becoming the platform | N/A — different job | Use the leave-PayFac calculator for an ISV registration decision |
| We can skip sub-merchant KYC if the software collects cards | No. Facilitator obligations include boarding KYC at the bank’s bar | This sponsor bank’s KYC / underwriting requirements | Thin KYC to grow volume faster |
| The ISV becomes the acquiring bank | No. The sponsor bank holds the network seat. You sit under them | Sponsor bank legal name and registration status | Promise merchants you are the member bank |
| Any volume justifies registration | No. Capital, risk ops, and bank bars decide — not a slogan | Written capital / reserve / portfolio requirements from the bank | Invent a typical volume trigger |
| This is another PayFac-vs-ISO table | No. That shape is on Payments. This map is the ISV registration fork | N/A | Rewrite PayFac-vs-ISO 101 here |
Five-year search window, then purge. Early exit is a bank removal answer. Filter the claim. No entity-swap tips.
| Claim | Reality | Get in writing | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| MATCH drops after one year | Public rule is about five years searchable, then purge | Add date from the acquiring bank | Invent a shorter purge from a forum |
| Waiting five years is the same as a removal request | No. Waiting is the purge clock. Removal is a written bank answer on the 30-day path | Whether you already sent a removal request | Skip the letter and hope the date ages off |
| I can clear MATCH with a new LLC | No. That is not a removal path here. Principals still surface in underwriting | N/A — do not pursue entity swaps on this page | Form a shell to hide a listing |
| The ISO can purge me from MATCH | MATCH is member-to-member. The acquiring / sponsor bank answers | Legal bank name that holds the seat | Stop after a reseller says they ‘cleared’ you |
| I can look myself up and confirm the date | No. There is no public merchant search. Write the bank | Listing ICA, reason code, add date from the bank reply | Trust a third-party ‘MATCH check’ site |
| This page is the letter checklist | No. How to ask is the MATCH letter page. This map is duration and paths only | N/A — open the letter checklist when you are ready to send | Skip ICA and clocks because you ‘know the five-year rule’ |
Tick a part when it is in the letter you will send. You cannot look yourself up. We do not invent a listing.
Holes: Named the bank you are writing to, Legal entity, DBA, and principals, Asked for the listing ICA, Asked for the reason code, Asked who added you, and on what date, Invoked the 7-day question window, Invoked the 30-day removal clock, Attached the termination or decline.
Processors and networks
Named processors and the networks whose rules a merchant account inherits.
| Service | What it is |
|---|---|
| Processors / gateways | NMI, Auth.net, Stripe, Payarc, Braintree, PayPal, Chargemont, Easy Pay Direct — add when used. |
| Visa / Mastercard | Network rules MIDs inherit: thresholds, 3DS, RDR. |
On MIDs: Load-balance, stop-dumping, enrollment holes per MID — not “we bought Ethoca.”