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10 minute read

November 1, 2019

MCC Groups

A merchant category code (MCC) is a four-digit number assigned by card networks to a business based on the goods or services offered by the business. On the Marqeta platform, an MCC group defines a set of MCCs. You can include an MCC group within a spend control to limit user spending at a set of merchants.

An MCC group also allows you to automatically increase authorization amounts and to control expiration of authorizations for the specified MCCs. By default, these controls apply to all cards in your program. An MCC group authorization control can have exceptions defined at the card product level.

Note
See Controlling Spending for a tutorial that walks you through the creation of a spend control.

Create MCC group
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Action: POST
Endpoint: /mccgroups

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Use this endpoint to create an MCC group.

Body field details
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Fields Description

token

string optional

The unique identifier of the group.

If you do not include a token, the system will generate one automatically. This token is necessary for use in other API calls, so we recommend that rather than let the system generate one, you use a simple string that is easy to remember. This value cannot be updated.

Allowable Values:

36 char max

name

string required

The name of the group.

Allowable Values:

40 char max

mccs

array required

The set of merchant category codes that you want to include in this group. For each element, valid characters are 0-9, length must be 4. You can also specify a range like "9876-9880". An MCC can belong to more than one group.

Allowable Values:

Existing merchant category codes

active

boolean optional

Indicates if the group is active or inactive.

Allowable Values:

true, false

Default value: false

config

object optional

Allows for configuration options for this group, including control over the expiration of authorizations and automatic increases to the authorization amount.

Allowable Values:

Existing config object.

The config object
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Fields Description

authorization_controls

object optional

Controls the expiration of authorizations and automatic increases to the authorization amount for MCCs specified in this group.

By default, these authorization controls apply program-wide, meaning that they apply to every card in your program. You can, however, exempt cards associated with any particular card product by setting that card product’s allow_mcc_group_authorization_controls field to false.

Allowable Values:

Existing config.authorization_controls object.

The config.authorization_controls object
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Fields Description

hold_increase

object optional

Controls automatic increases to the authorization amount for MCCs specified in this group.

Allowable Values:

Existing config/authorization_controls.hold_increase object.

hold_expiration_days

integer optional

Specifies the number of days after which an authorization associated with this group expires.

Allowable Values:

1–100

Default value: 7

The config.authorization_controls.hold_increase object
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Fields Description

type

string required

Controls whether the value field represents a fixed amount or a percentage of the authorization amount.

Allowable Values:

AMOUNT, PERCENT

Default value: AMOUNT

value

decimal required

Specifies the amount of the automatic increase to the authorization amount.

The type field controls whether this amount is a fixed amount or a percentage.

Allowable Values:

Format: 0.00

Sample request body
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{
  "token": "my_mccgroup_01",
  "name": "My MCC Group 01",
  "mccs": ["0123", "2224-2230", "3876"
  ],
  "active": true,
  "config": {
    "authorization_controls": {
      "hold_increase": {
        "type": "PERCENT",
        "value": 20
      },
      "hold_expiration_days": 2
    }
  }
}

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Sample response body
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{
  "token": "my_mccgroup_01",
  "name": "My MCC Group 01",
  "mccs": [
    "0123",
    "2224-2230",
    "3876"
  ],
  "active": true,
  "config": {
    "authorization_controls": {
      "hold_increase": {
        "type": "PERCENT",
        "value": 20
      },
      "hold_expiration_days": 2
    }
  }
}

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Retrieve MCC group
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Action: GET
Endpoint: /mccgroups/{token}

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Use this endpoint to retrieve a specific MCC group.

URL path parameters
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Fields Description

token

string required

Identifies the MCC group.

Allowable Values:

Existing MCC group token.

Send a GET request to /mccgroups to retrieve MCC group tokens.

Sample response body
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{
  "token": "my_mccgroup_02",
  "name": "My MCC Group 02",
  "mccs": [
    "0123",
    "2224-2230"
  ],
  "active": true,
  "config": {
    "authorization_controls": {
      "hold_increase": {
        "type": "AMOUNT",
        "value": 10
      },
      "hold_expiration_days": 3
    }
  }
}

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Update MCC group
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Action: PUT
Endpoint: /mccgroups/{token}

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Use this endpoint to update an MCC group. Include the token path parameter to identify the MCC group to update. You must pass all the merchant category codes you want included in the group, including existing ones you want to retain.

URL path parameters
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Fields Description

token

string required

Identifies the MCC group.

Allowable Values:

Existing MCC group token.

Send a GET request to /mccgroups to retrieve MCC group tokens.

Body field details
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Fields Description

name

string optional

The name of the MCC group.

Allowable Values:

40 char max

mccs

array optional

The set of merchant category codes to include in the MCC group.

A merchant category code can belong to more than one group.

Allowable Values:

Array of existing merchant category codes.

Each code is a four-digit number. You can also specify ranges such as "9876-9880".

Note
Updating the merchant category codes for the group completely replaces the group’s existing codes. For example, if the current MCC group is ["1234"] and you want to add the 2345 code (while retaining the existing code), you must specify ["1234", "2345"] in this field. You delete a code by simply not specifying it in the update.

active

boolean optional

Indicates whether the MCC group is active or inactive.

Allowable Values:

true, false

Default value: false

config

object optional

Allows for configuration options for this group, including control over the expiration of authorizations and automatic increases to the authorization amount.

Allowable Values:

Existing config object.

The config object
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Fields Description

authorization_controls

object optional

Controls the expiration of authorizations and automatic increases to the authorization amount for MCCs specified in this group.

Allowable Values:

Existing config.authorization_controls object.

The config.authorization_controls object
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Fields Description

hold_increase

object optional

Controls automatic increases to the authorization amount for MCCs specified in this group.

Allowable Values:

Existing config/authorization_controls.hold_increase object.

hold_expiration_days

integer optional

Specifies the number of days after which an authorization associated with this group expires.

Allowable Values:

1–100

Default value: 7

The config.authorization_controls.hold_increase object
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Fields Description

type

string required

Controls whether the value field represents a fixed amount or a percentage of the authorization amount.

Allowable Values:

AMOUNT, PERCENT

Default value: AMOUNT

value

decimal required

Specifies the amount of the automatic increase to the authorization amount.

The type field controls whether this amount is a flat amount or percentage.

Allowable Values:

Format: 0.00

Sample request body
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{
  "mccs": ["0123", "2224-2230"
  ]
}

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Sample response body
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{
  "token": "my_mccgroup_02",
  "name": "My MCC Group 02",
  "mccs": [
    "0123",
    "2224-2230"
  ],
  "active": true,
  "config": {
    "authorization_controls": {
      "hold_increase": {
        "type": "AMOUNT",
        "value": 10
      },
      "hold_expiration_days": 3
    }
  }
}

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List MCC groups
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Action: GET
Endpoint: /mccgroups

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Use this endpoint to list all MCC groups defined in your program or list MCC groups that contain a specified code.

This endpoint supports field filtering and pagination.

Query parameters
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Fields Description

mcc

string optional

Returns all MCC groups that contain the specified merchant category code.

Allowable Values:

A merchant category code.

Sample response body
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{
  "count": 2,
  "start_index": 0,
  "end_index": 1,
  "is_more": false,
  "data": [
    {
      "token": "my_mccgroup_02",
      "name": "My MCC Group 02",
      "mccs": [
        "0123",
        "2224-2230"
      ],
      "active": true,
      "config": {
        "authorization_controls": {
          "hold_increase": {
            "type": "AMOUNT",
            "value": 10
          },
          "hold_expiration_days": 3
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "token": "my_mccgroup_01",
      "name": "My MCC Group 01",
      "mccs": [
        "0123",
        "2224-2230",
        "3876"
      ],
      "active": true,
      "config": {
        "authorization_controls": {
          "hold_increase": {
            "type": "PERCENT",
            "value": 20
          },
          "hold_expiration_days": 2
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

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