MCC and Merchant ID ALC Examples

See Designing Authorization Controls for an explanation of this page.

  • MCC — Merchant category code
  • MID — Merchant ID

Contents

Examples 1–5

Example 1Example 2Example 3Example 4Example 5
TransactionMCC 7995MCC 5550MCC 5650MCC 5750MCC 5750
MCC blocklistMCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995
Product-level MCCany value5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 ALLOW
Online only (product)any valueNNNN
Account-level MCCany value5750 DENY5700 ALLOW
Online only (account)any valueNN
Product-level MIDany value
Account-level MIDany value
ResultDENYALLOWDENYDENYDENY
ReasonProgram blocklist overrides all other controlsMCC 5550 falls inside the ALLOW rangeMCC 5650 falls outside the ALLOW rangeMCC 5750 is denied at the account levelMCC 5750 falls outside the ALLOW range

Examples 6–10

Example 6Example 7Example 8Example 9Example 10
TransactionMCC 5560MCC 1111MCC 1112MCC 5800
MID 1234
MCC 5800
MID 1234
MCC blocklistMCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995
Product-level MCC5500–5600 ALLOW0000–0000 ALLOW0000–0000 ALLOWany valueany value
Online only (product)NNNNany value
Account-level MCC5700 ALLOW1111 ALLOW1111 ALLOWany valueany value
Online only (account)NNNNany value
Product-level MID1234 DENYany value
Account-level MID1234 ALLOW
ResultALLOWALLOWDENYDENYALLOW
ReasonMCC 5560 is included in the product-level control0000–0000 ALLOW = deny all, but 1111 is allowed at the account level0000–0000 ALLOW = deny all, and 1112 is not allowed at the account levelThe product-level merchant ID overrides MCC controlsThe account-level merchant ID overrides all other controls

Examples 11–15

Example 11Example 12Example 13Example 14Example 15
TransactionMCC 5800
MID 1234
MCC 5750
MID 1234
online
MCC 5550
MID 1234
not online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
online
MCC blocklistMCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995
Product-level MCCany value5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 DENY
Online only (product)any valueYYNN
Account-level MCCany value5750 DENY5750 DENY
Online only (account)any valueYY
Product-level MIDany value
Account-level MID1234 DENY1234 ALLOW
ResultDENYDENYDENYDENYALLOW
ReasonThe account-level merchant ID overrides all other controlsMCC 5750 is outside the ALLOW range, and the control applies to online transactions.MCC 5550 is allowed only for online transactions.MCC 5750 is denied at the account level, and the control applies to online transactions.MCC 5750 is denied at the account level, but the account-level merchant ID overrides it.

Examples 16–20

Example 16Example 17Example 18Example 19Example 20
TransactionMCC 5750
MID 1234
online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
not online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
not online
MCC 5750
MID 1234
not online
MCC blocklistMCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995MCC 7995
Product-level MCC5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 ALLOW
Online only (product)NNNYY
Account-level MCC5750 DENY5750 DENY5750 DENY5750 DENY5750 ALLOW
Online only (account)NYYYY
Product-level MID
Account-level MID
ResultDENYALLOWDENYALLOWDENY
ReasonMCC 5750 is denied at the account level, and the control applies to all transactions.MCC 5750 is denied at the account level, but only for online transactions.MCC 5750 is denied at the account level, and the control applies to online transactions.All of the existing controls apply only to online transactions.MCC 5750 is allowed at an account level, but only for online transactions.

Invalid MCC control configurations

Attempting to configure any of these MCC control combinations will return an error.

Example 21Example 22Example 23Example 24Example 25
MCC blocklistMCC 7995
MCC 7800–7802
MCC 7995
MCC 7800–7802
MCC 7995
MCC 7800–7802
MCC 7995
MCC 7800–7802
MCC 7995
MCC 7800–7802
Product-level MCC5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 DENY5500–5600 ALLOW5500–5600 DENYMCC 7500–7550 ALLOW
Account-level MCC5000 DENY5500 ALLOW5550–5700 ALLOW5550–5560 DENYMCC 7990–8000 ALLOW
ReasonProduct level is ALLOW, so the account level must also be ALLOW.Product level is DENY and account level cannot contradict or overlap the product level.Account-level range overlaps the product-level range.Account-level range is inside the product-level range.Both ranges overlap MCC blocklist

Velocity MCC example

Consult the examples below for valid velocity ALCs with MCCs. This example demonstrates a use case wherein parents can set limits on a debit card that is issued to an adolescent, as shown in Use case 7: Teen spending cards.

Product-level controls

These are the product-level controls for the card product.

Control IDDescriptionPeriodTrans TypeDomestic FlagHas PINAmountCount
1Weekly POS limit, PIN7DPOSAY3000
2Weekly POS limit, signature7DPOSAN1500
3Monthly combined limit (ATM, POS, CAD, CBD)1MATM, POS, CAD, CBDAA10000
4Per-transaction cash-back limit1TCBAAA200

Account-level MCC velocity controls

At the time the parents order the card, they can select from among preset categories of transactions. This example assumes that all of the MCCs are allowed at both the product level and account level.

RowControl IDDescriptionMCCsAmountCount
A1Weekly POS limit, PIN2000
B1Weekly POS limit, PIN5541–55425005
C2Weekly POS limit, signature5815–58181005
D2Weekly POS limit, signature5812–5814200
E3Monthly combined limit (ATM, POS, CAD, CBD)300025
F3Monthly combined limit (ATM, POS, CAD, CBD)60114004
G4Per-transaction cashback limit100
H4Per-transaction cashback limit541140
  • Row A — The parents set a weekly limit for PIN transactions to 2000, down from the 3000 allowed by the product-level control.
  • Row B — The second control ID 1 limits gas station PIN transactions to 5 transactions totalling no more than 500.
  • Rows C–D — For signature transactions (which includes online transactions), they impose a limit of no more than 5 transactions of 100 total weekly for digital goods such as online music, games, apps, and videos. They also impose a 200 weekly limit on restaurants.
  • Row E — They then reduce the monthly amount for all transactions to 3000, down from the 10000 allowed by the product-level control.
  • Row F — ATM transactions are limited to 400 per month of the monthly combined limit.
  • Rows G–H — For cashback transactions, there is a 100 limit per transaction, unless it is at a grocery store, and then the limit is 40.
MCC definitions
  • 5411 — Grocery stores
  • 5541–5542 — Service stations and gas pumps
  • 5812–5814 — Restaurants
  • 5815–5818 — Digital goods: ebooks, videos, music, games, apps
  • 6011 — ATMs