Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards 15 November 2016 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of Contents
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Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards 15 November 2016 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of Contents ABOUT THIS GUIDE . 5 INTRODUCTION . 5 WHO SHOULD USE THIS DOCUMENT . 6 1. MERCHANT DATA REQUIREMENTS GENERAL RULES . 7 Basic Rules to Remember . 7 Requesting New MCCs . 8 ASSIGNING CORRECT MCCS . 9 MERCHANT NAME . .11 MERCHANT CITY . 15 Determining a Merchant Location . 16 OPTIONAL AND REQUIRED DATA FORMATS 20 Automated Fuel Dispensers . .20 Direct Marketing MCCs . 21 Manual Cash . .24 Travel and Entertainment (T&E) . .24 Visa ATM Network . .26 15 November 2016 VISA EUROPE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - Member Use Only 3 Merchant Data Standards Table of Contents 2. MERCHANT CATEGORY CODE LISTING MERCHANT CATEGORY CODE, LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY MERCHANT TYPE . 27 MERCHANT CATEGORY CODES, LISTED IN NUMERICAL ORDER OF MCC . 61 3. TRAVEL AND ENTERTAINMENT (T&E) MERCHANTS ALPHABETICAL T&E MERCHANT LISTING . 155 Airline Listing . 155 Car Rental Listings . 161 Hotel Listings . .163 NUMERICAL T&E MERCHANT LISTING . 172 Airline Listing . 172 Car Rental Listings . .178 Hotel Listings . .180 4. BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MERCHANTS 5. FLOOR LIMIT CATEGORY CODE LISTING 6. MERCHANT DATA RESOURCES COMMON LOCATION ABBREVIATIONS . 220 COMMON BUSINESS WORD ABBREVIATIONS . 222 COUNTRY CODES . 229 Visa Merchant Category Code (MCC) Request Form . 238 4 VISA EUROPE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - Member Use Only 15 November 2016 Merchant Data Standards Introduction ABOUT THIS GUIDE The requirements in this publication are referenced in the Visa Rules, and have the same authority as the Visa Rules. They are binding upon participants in the services referenced. The Visa Rules governs in the event of any inconsistency or contradiction, unless Visa Europe specifically grants a variance. INTRODUCTION The Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards has been created to assist members in selecting the appropriate Merchant Category Code (MCC) for a particular merchant and formatting merchant data entered into the Visa Europe Authorization Service (Visa Europe Auths) and the Visa Europe Clearing and Settlement Service (VECSS). In particular, the Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards provides detailed requirements for allocating a merchant name to merchants. The Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards includes a complete listing of MCCs and their definitions, as well as general guidelines for required merchant data. It has been organised as follows: Chapter One: Merchant Data Requirements: Includes general rules for assigning correct MCCs, and the many “best practices” employed by acquirers entering merchant data. This chapter also presents optional and required merchant data formats that are typically used when merchant data is initially set up, and includes guidelines for requesting new MCCs. Chapter Two: Merchant Category Code Listing: Includes updated listings of non T&E merchant types and their corresponding MCCs. The listings are presented in alphabetical order by merchant name and numerical order by MCC. Chapter Three: Travel and Entertainment (T&E) Merchants: Includes updated listings of T&E merchant types and their corresponding MCCs. The listings are presented in alphabetical order by merchant name and numerical order by MCC. Chapter Four: Business-to-Business Merchants: Includes the MCCs that should be used for merchants that transact the majority of their business with other businesses. Chapter Five: Floor Limit Category Codes: Includes listings of merchant floor limit category codes. The listings are presented in alphabetical order by merchant type and numerical order by MCC. Chapter Six: Merchant Data Resources: Includes two quick references that outline the abbreviations commonly used when establishing merchant descriptions. While use of these abbreviations is not required, it is recommended that members adopt them to ensure consistency within their operations, and within the Visa system. 15 November 2016 VISA EUROPE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - Member Use Only 5 Merchant Data Standards WHO SHOULD USE THIS DOCUMENT This document is intended for Visa Europe members who work with merchant information on a regular basis and use it to assign MCCs, develop merchant descriptions, underwrite merchant applications, and structure the merchant data that will be entered into the authorization and clearing processing systems. Issuing and acquiring quality assurance, sales, marketing, and risk management staff may also find the document useful when referencing MCCs or merchant-specific data requirements. 6 VISA EUROPE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - Member Use Only 15 November 2016 Merchant Data Standards Merchant Data Requirements This chapter contains requirements and guidance for assisting in the selection of the Merchant Category Code (MCC) that best conveys a merchant’s primary type of business. It also provides best practices for assigning MCCs, as well as basic guidelines for establishing and formatting accurate merchant data elements including merchant name and merchant location. GENERAL RULES The MCC is a four-digit number assigned to describe a merchant’s primary business based on annual sales volume. In addition, some MCCs identify a specific merchant or type of transaction. Because Visa and its members use MCC data for a range of purposes, including activity tracking, reporting, and risk management purposes, it is crucial that acquirers assign the correct MCC to each merchant. Basic Rules to Remember The following rules should be considered when assigning MCCs: 1. Select the MCC that most accurately describes the merchant’s business. The MCC, in most cases, should reflect the primary type of business in which the merchant is engaged. If the merchant has more than one line of business and may qualify for more than one MCC, the merchant must either: Use the MCC that describes the business with the highest number of transactions; or Use different MCCs for each line of business. 2. Use MCCs termed “miscellaneous” only if there is no MCC specific to the merchant’s business. MCC descriptions are very descriptive, and merchants must only be assigned a “miscellaneous” MCC when no other MCC applies to its business. Miscellaneous MCCs generally end in the number 99. Examples are MCC 5499 - Miscellaneous Food Stores and MCC 5999 - Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Shops. 3. Merchants with multiple merchant outlets must choose the appropriate MCC for each individual outlet. Accordingly, a merchant with multiple outlets may need to use different MCCs in different outlets. For major Travel and Entertainment (T&E) merchants, use the unique merchant-specific MCCs that have been designated for them. If an airline, car rental, or lodging merchant has a merchant-specific MCC, it must be used for all transactions related to the merchant’s travel or entertainment. For example, an airline with an assigned MCC should use this MCC for ticket purchase, baggage fees, upgrade fees, and purchases made on the aircraft. Airline, car rental, and lodging merchants that do not have a merchant-specific MCC must use the “generic” MCC for that merchant type. — For airlines it is MCC 4511 – Airlines, Air Carriers (Not Elsewhere Classified) — For car rental agencies, it is MCC 7512 – Car Rental Agencies (Not Elsewhere Classified) 15 November 2016 VISA EUROPE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - Member Use Only 7 Merchant Data Standards Merchant Data Requirements — For lodging merchants, it is MCC 7011 – Lodging – Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Central Reservation Services (Not Elsewhere Classified). 4. Merchants with multiple business operations on their premises must use more than one MCC. If there are different businesses operating on the same merchant premises, each business must be assigned its own MCC if they: operate under different merchant names operate in distinct areas, and have separate points of sale. For example, hotels often operate other types of businesses on the premises (i.e., restaurant, flower shop, gift shop, etc.) with separate business names and payment terminals from the hotel. Visa Europe requires the merchant to classify these other businesses as a separate business under a unique and separate MCC that describes the specific business operation. For example, a flower shop in a hotel should be classified under the Florist MCC, whether or not it is affiliated with the hotel property. 5. A member should treat Direct Marketing and Wholesale Club MCCs as unique in that they are the only ones that do not describe the merchant’s product or service. Direct Marketing MCCs and the Wholesale Club MCC describe how the merchant conducts its business. For example, a Direct Marketing merchant sells through “direct contact” with the consumer using catalogs, brochures, telemarketing, direct mailings, etc., and conducts card absent transactions. Therefore, a Direct Marketing merchant can sell any type of product or service. Note that direct marketing MCCs only apply to merchants that market to consumers, and do not include business-to-business merchants. Requesting New MCCs Members interested in requesting new MCCs must complete the Visa Merchant Category Code Request Form and include a written business case explaining the reason for the request. Visa will notify the member when a decision is made. If approved, the new MCC will be included in the next edition of the Visa Europe Merchant Data Standards. Industry-Specific Codes New industry-specific MCCs will be considered only if the proposed industry meets the following minimum criteria: The annual Visa sales volume for the industry is equal to