A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four-figure number used to categorize business entities according to the type of products or services the company offers. Credit card associations have set up rules dictating merchants in specific high-risk MCC codes to pre register with these associations to ensure monitoring of risks. These high risk categories include industries which primarily cause the highest rates of disputes caused by cardholders or represent risky brands for regulatory purposes.
The following is a list of visa MCC codes that need high-risk registration and many other business categories where retailers find it difficult to qualify for merchant accounts.
MCC
| MCC | Merchant Category Code |
| 4722 | Travel agencies and tour operators |
| 4812 | Telecom equipment and sales |
| 4814 | Telecom services |
| 4816 | Computer network services |
| 4829 | Wire transfers & money orders |
| 5122 | Drugs, Proprietaries & Sundries |
| 5912 | Drug stores and pharmacies |
| 5962 | Direct Marketing-Travel |
| 5964 | Direct Marketing-Catalog Merchant |
| 5966 | DM-Outbound telemarketing |
| 5967 | DM-Inbound Teleservices |
| 5968 | Direct Marketing- Subscription |
| 5969 | Direct Marketing-other |
| 5993 | Cigar stores and Stands |
| 7021 | Timeshares |
| 7273 | Dating and Escort |
| 7841 | Video tape rental stores |
| 7994 | Video games and arcades |
| 7995 | Betting and casino Gambling |
| 9399 | Government Services |
| 9754 | None-Face-to-Face Gambling |
High risk accounts are difficult to acquire because traditional banks are not willing to work with such merchants. Most of them don’t have the right tools in place to reduce associated risks and have policies that prohibit them from offering services to risky industries.
EMB has made it their responsibility to offer a range of local and offshore merchant accounts to all low risk and high-risk merchants. Not only that, it also has acquiring bank partnerships, skills and a good reputation to help your high risk business acquire a merchant account.
As you can see, if your company is high risk, then it’s time you register for risk monitoring. The above table contains a list of visa MCC codes for different industry categories; you must definitely fall in one of the above.