MCC codes

MCC (Merchant Category Code) — a 4-digit code for the merchant’s line of business (e.g. 7995 — gambling, 5912 — pharmacies, 5812 — restaurants). The acquirer assigns an MCC at boarding; card schemes apply rules, limits and risk programs based on it.

MCC-miscoding

A mismatch between the actual business and the declared MCC is a classic fraud signal — the merchant declares a benign category while selling prohibited goods. The platform compares the actual MCC (detected from content) with the declared one and issues a verdict (see the content check in underwriting).

The actual MCC is determined by AI (Premium tier): it reads the merchant’s site content and picks a code from the platform’s real MCC directory (rather than “guessing” arbitrary four digits) — the semantically closest catalog codes are injected into the prompt. This also surfaces narrow codes (e.g. 9406 — government-owned lotteries). The suggestion is a draft for the officer; the final decision is theirs.

High risk by payment scheme

A category can be high-risk in one or more schemes, requiring enhanced verification and program registration:

• Mastercard — MRP (Mastercard Registration Program);
• Visa — VIRP (Visa Integrity Risk Program);
• BELKART — high risk per participating banks’ exclusion lists (quasi-cash, transfers, gambling, weapons/controlled goods, etc.);
• MIR — high risk (quasi-cash/crypto, securities, gambling, some government/professional services).

Examples: 7995 (gambling — all schemes), 6051 (crypto/forex), 5912/5122 (pharma), 5816 (Visa only), 7841 (Mastercard only), 6211 (securities — MIR).

MIR prohibitions

Acceptance at merchants with certain MCCs is prohibited in the MIR scheme: 6050, 6051, 6538, 7995. MIR also disallows online casinos; betting/brokerage/crypto outside Russia; pornography; sale of controlled substances and online weapons, and other legally prohibited activities.

Pre-authorization

Some categories allow the pre-authorization function — air/hotels/car rental (ranges 3000–3308, 3351–3550, 3501–3999), restaurants/bars (5812/5813), taxis (4121), cruises, equipment rental, amusement parks (7996) and others.

MCC directory in admin

Underwriting → MCC directory — the full catalog (900+ codes, enriched from the NSPK catalog): name (RU/EN), per-scheme notes for four schemes — Mastercard / Visa / BELKART / MIR, high-risk flags for each, MIR prohibition, pre-authorization. MIR notes are the official category descriptions from the NSPK catalog (the MIR operator). Filters: high risk, MIR prohibited, pre-authorization, presence in a scheme. Officers view and look up codes (a dedicated code page); the super admin edits and adds. On mobile — cards.

Status by payment scheme

Both in the list and on the code card, the status in each scheme is shown as a single badge:

• No code (gray) — MCC not assigned in this scheme;
• Present (green) — the category is supported (the scheme has a description);
• High risk (red) — needs enhanced controls and risk-program registration;
• Prohibited (red, MIR only) — acceptance of merchants with this MCC is not allowed.

CSV import and export

The whole catalog is edited as a single file covering every payment scheme at once. Export CSV dumps the current table (columns = code fields: mcc, names, per-scheme notes, risk and restriction flags). Edit it in Excel and import it back (Import CSV button, super admin only): deduplicated by mcc, re-uploading updates codes. An empty text cell does not wipe an existing value; flags accept 1/yes/+. The same format backs the server-side catalog fixture.