MCC Code Lookup Tool

A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-digit number assigned by card networks (Visa, Mastercard) to classify businesses by the type of goods or services they provide. Every merchant that accepts credit cards is assigned an MCC when they open their merchant account. The code determines how card issuers categorize your purchases for rewards, spending limits, and reporting.

Credit cards that offer bonus categories (such as 3x points on dining or 5% back at grocery stores) use MCC codes to determine which purchases qualify for elevated rewards. For example, a warehouse club like Costco has MCC 5300, which some issuers categorize as wholesale clubs rather than grocery stores. Knowing the MCC helps you predict whether a purchase will earn bonus rewards or only the base rate.

There are several ways. You can use this lookup tool to search by category or merchant type. You can also check your credit card statement, which sometimes shows the MCC. Some card issuers display the merchant category in their mobile app or online portal. For a definitive answer, you can call your card issuer and ask what MCC was assigned to a specific transaction.

Yes. A merchant can have different MCC codes depending on the card network (Visa vs. Mastercard) and even by location. Large retailers with multiple departments sometimes have different MCCs for different types of transactions. For example, a pharmacy inside a grocery store might code as either MCC 5411 (grocery) or MCC 5912 (pharmacy) depending on how the terminal is configured.

MCC codes are generally stable, but card networks do add new codes and reclassify existing ones periodically. Visa and Mastercard publish updates to their merchant classification tables. Individual merchants can also have their MCC changed if they successfully request a reclassification from their payment processor, though this is uncommon.

While most MCC codes are shared between Visa and Mastercard, the two networks can differ in how they describe or group certain codes. A merchant might be described slightly differently on each network. This tool shows the standard ISO 18245 classification along with network-specific descriptions where available.