MCC 5812 vs. 5814: How Your Restaurant's Category Code Sets Fees

On this page 7 sections

1. What a Merchant Category Code Does to Your Rates
2. MCC 5812 vs. 5814 and 5813 for Bars: Who Belongs Where
3. How Quick-Service Interchange Programs Lower Small-Ticket Costs
4. Fast-Casual and Hybrid Concepts: The Gray Areas
5. How to Find Your Restaurant MCC Code on a Processing Statement
6. Getting a Wrong MCC Corrected: What to Expect From the Review
7. Next Steps for Restaurant and Bar Owners

Key takeaways

• Your merchant category code determines which interchange categories your card transactions can qualify for, and that affects what you pay to accept cards.
• MCC 5812 covers full-service restaurants, 5814 covers fast food and quick service, and 5813 covers bars and other places that mainly serve alcohol. The correct code is the one that describes how you actually operate.
• You will only see the cost difference between codes if your pricing passes interchange through to you, as interchange-plus pricing does.
• To fix a wrong MCC, document your service model, request the change in writing, and expect your processor to review your account. Never choose a code because its rates are lower.

Every card transaction at your restaurant carries a four-digit merchant category code (MCC) that tells the card networks what kind of business you are. For restaurant owners, the question of MCC 5812 vs. 5814 matters more than it looks. The code affects which interchange rates your sales can qualify for, how tips and bar tabs are handled, and how your account is underwritten. This guide explains what each restaurant code means and where bars fit. It also covers how quick-service pricing works, how to find your code on a statement, and how to correct the code properly if it's wrong.

What a Merchant Category Code Does to Your Rates

When you open a merchant account, your processor assigns an MCC based on what you told them during underwriting. That code travels with every transaction you run.

The card networks use the MCC as one input when deciding which interchange category a sale falls into. Interchange is the fee the cardholder's bank receives on each transaction, and it makes up most of what you pay to accept cards. Visa and Mastercard publish schedules with many categories, and some apply only to certain kinds of merchants. For a refresher on how those schedules are built, read our explainer on how interchange fees and card swipe costs are set.

The MCC also affects things beyond price:

• Tip adjustments. Networks allow tip adjustments after authorization for certain restaurant and bar codes. If you adjust beyond what the network tolerates for your code, the sale can downgrade to a more expensive category.
• Bar tabs and preauthorizations. How long you can hold a card, and how far the final amount can differ from the hold, depend partly on your code.
• Underwriting and risk. Processors look at your MCC alongside your volume, average ticket and chargeback history.
• Cardholder rewards. Issuers decide which codes earn their "dining" rewards. A miscoded restaurant can confuse customers who expected bonus points.

One caveat up front: a better restaurant interchange category only lowers your bill if your pricing passes interchange through to you. On flat-rate plans and many tiered plans, your rate may not change at all when your MCC changes.

MCC 5812 vs. 5814 and 5813 for Bars: Who Belongs Where

Most restaurants and bars deal with the three codes below. The descriptions are general. Your processor and the card networks have the final word on which code applies to your business.

MCC 5812: Full-Service Eating Places

This is the standard restaurant MCC for sit-down dining. A server takes the order, food comes to the table, and the guest usually pays at the end, often signing for a tip that gets added later. Family restaurants, steakhouses, fine dining and most full-service ethnic restaurants generally fall here.

Fast Food MCC 5814: Quick-Service Restaurants

Fast food MCC 5814 fits operations where the customer orders and pays up front and the transaction is meant to be quick. Burger counters, drive-thrus, sandwich shops, pizza-by-the-slice counters and many coffee counters fit this pattern. Tickets are usually small and lines move fast. If tipping is offered, it typically happens on the terminal before the card is authorized.

MCC 5813 Bars, Taverns and Nightclubs

MCC 5813 covers bars and other businesses whose main activity is serving alcohol for on-premise drinking. Food may be on the menu, but drinks drive the business. Bars depend on opening tabs and holding cards, so getting this code right affects your preauthorization workflow. Our guide to bar tab preauthorization and closing tabs safely covers that side in detail.

How Quick-Service Interchange Programs Lower Small-Ticket Costs

Card networks have long treated fast, low-dollar purchases differently from larger sales. Their published schedules include categories for quick-service and small-ticket purchases. Card-present sales at qualifying merchant types that fall below a ticket-size threshold can qualify for different pricing than a standard restaurant sale.

Here is why that matters for a counter-service operation:

• Fixed per-transaction fees hit small tickets hardest. On a coffee-and-pastry sale, a flat per-item fee is a much larger share of the ticket than it is on a dinner check. Small-ticket categories are generally structured with that in mind.
• Volume compounds the difference. A quick-service location may run many more transactions per day than a full-service restaurant with similar revenue, so small per-transaction differences add up.
• Eligibility has conditions. Qualification typically depends on the MCC, the ticket amount, whether the card was present, and how the transaction was authorized and settled. Thresholds and rates change, so check the current published Visa and Mastercard interchange tables or ask your processor which categories apply to you.

Keep these cautions in mind:

• Online orders are usually treated differently. Many restaurant and quick-service rates are built for card-present transactions. Online and app orders often fall into card-not-present categories regardless of your MCC. If online ordering is a growing part of your business, our piece on commission-free online ordering looks at that channel's costs.
• Some debit volume is priced separately. Certain debit cards are subject to separate federal interchange rules, so your MCC may have less influence on that portion of your sales. Ask your processor how your debit volume is priced. Our comparison of debit vs. credit card processing fees offers general background.
• Tip handling differs. Quick-service categories may not allow the after-the-fact tip adjustments that full-service restaurants rely on. Collecting tips on-screen before authorization avoids that problem. See how credit card tip adjustment works and where it goes wrong.

Fast-Casual and Hybrid Concepts: The Gray Areas

Plenty of restaurants don't fit neatly into one code. The situations below are common, along with the questions that usually decide them.

• Fast-casual with runners. Guests order and pay at a counter, then staff bring food to the table. The payment flow looks like quick service, but the experience is closer to sit-down dining. How and when payment happens usually matters most.
• Counter service by day, table service by night. If your dinner service runs open checks with tips added afterward, the full-service workflow may dominate your card activity.
• Brewpubs and restaurants with big bar programs. The question is whether you are primarily a place to eat or primarily a place to drink. Your liquor license type doesn't settle that by itself. Your sales mix and how you present the business carry more weight.
• Coffee shops and bakeries. Many fit quick service. Some bakeries and caterers have their own category codes, so ask your processor rather than assuming.
• Food trucks. These typically take orders and payment at the window, run small tickets and often use mobile terminals. Our food truck payment processing page covers that setup.

You may run genuinely separate businesses, such as a full-service restaurant and an independent catering operation. In that case, talk with your processor about how each should be set up, because each account is underwritten and coded for what it actually does. Splitting one operation across accounts to reach a cheaper code is not acceptable.

The right code is the one that honestly describes your business. Picking a code because its interchange is lower is miscoding. It violates card network rules and can lead to fines, account termination or worse.

How to Find Your Restaurant MCC Code on a Processing Statement

Many owners have never looked at their code. Use these steps to find it:

1. Check the statement header or merchant profile section. Many processors print the MCC near your merchant ID, business name and address. It may be labeled "MCC," "SIC" or "Merchant Category."
2. Log in to your processor's online portal. Account settings or business profile pages often list the code.
3. Read the interchange detail section. On interchange-plus pricing, your statement lists the interchange categories each batch qualified for. Category names that reference restaurants, quick service or small tickets hint at how your transactions are being classified.
4. Look for downgrades. If many transactions land in higher-cost categories than you expect, the cause could be a code mismatch, a tip-adjustment issue or a terminal setting problem.
5. Ask in writing. Email your processor and ask for your assigned MCC and the reason it was assigned. A written answer gives you a record.

If your statement is hard to read, our guide to what counts as a fair restaurant processing rate walks through the main line items.

Check Your Pricing Model at the Same Time

Before you worry about the code, confirm how you're billed:

If you're on flat-rate or tiered pricing, read why interchange-plus pricing is worth asking about. A correct MCC only helps if the savings reach you.

Getting a Wrong MCC Corrected: What to Expect From the Review

Changing your MCC changes your merchant profile, so processors treat it as a material change and will review your account. That review is normal. You can help it go smoothly by showing clearly that the correction reflects how your business really operates.

Steps to Request a Correction

1. Describe your service model in plain terms. Explain how customers order, when they pay, whether servers run checks, and how tips are collected.
2. Gather supporting material. Include your menu, your website, photos of the ordering counter or dining room, and a rough description of your food and alcohol sales mix. Labeled estimates are fine.
3. Submit the request in writing. Ask the processor to confirm the correct code, whether the change requires a new application or merchant ID, and whether pricing will change.
4. Ask about terminal and POS settings. A move from 5812 to 5814, or into or out of 5813, may require changes to tip prompts, tab handling or preauthorization settings.
5. Verify the next statement. Confirm the new code appears and that transactions are landing in the categories you expected.

What Raises Red Flags

• Asking for a specific code because "it's cheaper"
• A business description that doesn't match your website, menu or license
• A code request made at the same time as a big, unexplained jump in volume or ticket size
• Requests to run some sales under a different account or code

None of these will speed up a correction. Accurate, consistent information will.

Next Steps for Restaurant and Bar Owners

Pull your latest statement, find your MCC, and check it against how your business actually runs. Then confirm your pricing model so you know whether a correction would show up on your bill. If your code, terminal settings or pricing don't match your operation, gather your documentation and raise the issue with your processor in writing.

If you want to compare options, MannyPay works with full-service restaurants, quick-service counters and bars. Our restaurant and bar payment processing page outlines POS and terminal options. You can also request a free processing quote, and a MannyPay specialist will respond within one business day.

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About the author

MannyPay Editorial Team

Beyond the Swipe's editorial desk researches the publication's guides and news and cites its sources in every article. Articles reviewed by a named MannyPay editor carry that editor's byline.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.