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MCC risk lookup
GuideMCC risk lookupOpen pairing manual
20 codes · the MCC on the MID is the one Visa and the acquirer will use, not the one on the website.
| 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. |
Filter by risk band or search a code / name. High-risk here means how acquirers and brands monitor the MID — reserves, tighter CB programs — not a moral category.
Procedure: MCC on the MID. Topic: MIDs.
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