Digital goods and software · Merchant category codes
What is MCC 5818 (Digital Goods – Large Digital Goods Merchant)?
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MCC 5818 (Digital Goods – Large Digital Goods Merchant) is the merchant category code for large-volume merchants selling digital goods, with at least 25 million transactions a year outside Europe, or PCI DSS Level 1 status (over 6 million Visa transactions a year) in Europe. Almost no independent store qualifies: the thresholds in Visa's definition rule it out until volume is very large. Visa requires 3D Secure on its online sales for merchants located in Singapore.
- Visa name
- Digital Goods – Large Digital Goods Merchant
- Stripe name
- Digital Goods – Large Digital Goods Merchant
- Restricted by Stripe
- No
- Visa high-integrity risk
- No
- Visa 3D Secure rule for online sales
- Required for merchants located in Singapore
- In PlatformDTC's Industry picker
- Yes, under "Digital products"
- Typical products
- Large app stores, Large digital media stores
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC's payments setup lists 5818 in its Industry picker as "Digital goods - Large merchant" under "Digital products"; typing 5818 in the search box finds it. The choice is sent to Stripe as the category code of the store's own payments account and can be changed later under Settings, Payments, Professional details, subject to Stripe's check.
What sells under MCC 5818
Visa uses 5818 for large-volume merchants selling digital goods, with at least 25 million transactions a year outside Europe, or PCI DSS Level 1 status (over 6 million Visa transactions a year) in Europe.
Almost no independent store qualifies: the thresholds in Visa's definition rule it out until volume is very large.
- Large app stores
- Large digital media stores
Codes it is confused with
Choose the code for the line of business that makes up most of your sales. Visa also allows a separate code for each line of business.
| Code | Name | Use it instead when |
|---|---|---|
| 5815 | Digital Goods Media – Books, Movies, Digital Artwork/Images, Music | You sell digital media below the threshold |
| 5817 | Digital Goods – Applications (Excludes Games) | You sell apps below the threshold |
| 5816 | Digital Goods – Games | You sell games below the threshold |
Risk, 3D Secure and Stripe rules
5818 is not on Visa's high-integrity risk list, so no extra Visa registration is tied to the code itself.
Stripe's list of supported codes does not mark it restricted, so a Stripe account can use it without asking Stripe first.
Visa's rules require acquirers to process online sales under 5818 with Visa Secure (3D Secure) for merchants located in Singapore. Elsewhere, 3D Secure for this code follows the general rules of the merchant's country and the issuer's request.
Frequently asked questions
- Is MCC 5818 high risk?
- No. 5818 is not on Visa's high-integrity risk list. Stripe does not mark it restricted. Visa does require 3D Secure on online 5818 sales for merchants located in Singapore.
- Can a PlatformDTC store use MCC 5818?
- Yes. It is in the Industry picker of PlatformDTC's payments setup under "Digital products", and typing 5818 in the search finds it. PlatformDTC sends the choice to Stripe for the store's own payments account.
Sources
Related
- 5815 — Ebooks, films, digital art and music delivered electronically.
- 5817 — Apps and software delivered electronically, excluding games.
- 5816 — Electronically delivered games, including in-app purchases; no games of chance.
- 5734 — Stores selling software for business and personal use, maybe hardware too.
- 7372 — Programming, systems design, website design, data entry and processing services.
- 4816 — Internet access, network and information services, website maintenance.
- 4899 — Ongoing delivery of TV, radio or streaming content on a subscription or fee basis.