The Continuity Industry is now facing thorough resistance from leading credit card companies. Just recently, Visa and MasterCard swore to cut ties with any businesses whose merchants utilize Negative Options Billing. Now, more than ever, merchants have reason to switch to alternative payment providers for other solutions. Luckily, there are several providers waiting to assist continuity merchants.
So as credit companies insist on not working with you, providers like EMB are more than ready to accept your business. Why not pace the shift and apply for a Continuity negative option billing merchant account and begin running your business straight away.
However, it’s advisable to always seek for the appropriate industry code for the specific goods or services you offer as this may affect your business in different ways. Though these codes were originally designed by card networks to assist IRS with tax reporting, they’ve since been utilized for many other purposes like helping networks determine interchange fees (as they differ across industries). On top, they also impact on the card scheme fees as well as the acquirer fees.
We compiled lists of both SIC and NAICS codes to help business in the continuity and other related industries easily identify their category codes.
SIC Code: If you are in the continuity and subscription industry, then you must fall in one of these SIC codes:
5968: Direct Marketing, Continuity / Subscription Merchant
5969: Direct Marketers, Not Elsewhere Classified
5966: Direct Marketing – Outbound Telemarketing Merchants
A good number uses code 5968 (Actually, the number doubled between 2015 and 2015, proof enough that the subscription model is rapidly growing. What’s more, continuity businesses are at times classified depending on the specific services or goods they offer, e.g. electronics, nutraceuticals, etc.
NAICS Code: All businesses in the Subscription, Continuity, free trial and negative option industries normally use one of these NAICS codes:
511210: Software Publishers
5191: Other Info Services
454111: Electronic Shopping, Internet Retail Sales
454110: Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
8139: Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations(frequently used for membership websites)
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there are only a few NAICS codes that cover business models in the subscription and continuity industry. Therefore, while the above list will prove useful for most retailers applying for continuity merchant accounts that don’t perfectly fit in the industry, it is advisable to a find the correct NAICS code for the services or goods you sell.