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With credit card transactions, Level II and Level III different levels of data submission is are critical for businesses engaged in different types of transactions. Referrers and Merchants can receive up to 40-100 basis points of reduced fees on their qualifying business and commercial card transactions.

There are three levels of interchange data submission available:

Level 1

Basic transaction data like card number, expiration date, CVV, and transaction amount that is required for standard business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and provide standard interchange rates.

Level 2

More detailed transaction data, like a sales tax and order number, is required for B2B transactions and can provide lower interchange rates.

Level 3

Comprehensive transaction data like line item details and shipping for B2B transactions can qualify for the lowest interchange rates.

Major card brands Visa & MasterCard , each have specific requirements that merchants must adhere to to offer them the best interchange rates. ( American Express and Discover do not offer Level III data submission for accept direct Level 2 or Level 3 data submissions for lower interchange rates at this time).

Below is a breakdown of the key data required for Level II and Level III data submission for each card brand.

Info

Note: Each additional level of data submission, Level I to Level II to Level III data, requires all data from the previous level in addition to the new data required.

Example: In order to submit Level III data, all Level I and Level II data requirements must already be met to qualify for Level III interchange rates.

...

Tip

Tip: While not a requirement, it is recommended to submit the previous level of interchange data when submitting the following level.

Example: When submitting Level 3 data, all Level 1 and Level 2 data requirements are already met to ensure the most visibility for Level 3 interchange rates.

Below is a breakdown of the key data required for Level 2 and Level 3 data submission for each card brand.

...

Level 1 Interchange Data Requirements

All transactions, regardless of card brand, must meet these data requirements in order to qualify for basic interchange or Level I1:

Merchant & Transaction Information - Basic data provided about the Merchant and Transaction, including:

Merchant Name

The name of the Merchant business selling products or services.

Transaction Date

The date that the transaction took place.

Transaction Amount

The total amount of the transaction charged to the customer.

Customer / Cardholder Information - Essential customer and card data used to pay, including:

Customer Zip Code

The billing zip code on file with the customer’s credit card company.

Customer Billing Address

The full billing address on file with the customer’s credit card company.

Credit Card Number

The 15 (AMEX) or 16-digit credit card number shown on the customer’s card.

Card Expiration Date

The 4-digit, MMYY-format expiration date shown on the customer’s card.

...

Card CVV

The 3 or 4-digit security code shown on the customer’s card.

...

Commodity Codes

The Commodity Code must be submitted in numeric-only formatting to meet requirements. Merchants should utilize the National Institute of Governmental Purchasings' (NIGP) Commodity Codes.

Info

The full code list is available via subscription here.

Info

A partial list of 7-digit NIGP commodity codes is available here:

View file
namenigplist.pdf

...

Level 2 and 3 Interchange Data Requirements

Each card brand will feature its own list of requirements necessary to receive interchange rates by using Level II 2 or Level III 3 data to qualify on its card network. Each major card brand - Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover - has been listed below with individual details to clearly explain their requirements.

Once you are familiar with these requirements, visit <<Submit Level II & III interchange data article>> Submit Interchange Data with Transactions below to learn the different methods available to submit this data.

Tip

Visa - The Data Requirements Standard

Tip: For developers and Portal users, we recommend using Visa’s Level II 2 and Level III 3 requirements as your data submission foundation for Level II 2 and Level II 1 submission for any card brand.

Visa’s stringent standards cover all necessary elements for detailed transaction reporting.

...

Note

Visa

Warning: For all ‘tax’ amount values, ensure the amount always corresponds to your local state or province regulations to ensure tax compliance.

Note: If you choose to optionally submit Level 2 data with Level 3 data, the tax rate must be set between 0.1% & 22% of the transaction amount when the tax amount is greater than $0.00.

Visa

Read more information about Visa requirements below:

Expand
titleVisa - Qualifying Card Types for Interchange Data Submission

The following card types can be used for Level II & Level III 2 data submission and interchange rates:

  • Business Cards

  • Corporate Cards

    • Purchasing Cards

    • Corporate Purchasing

    • Business Credit

    • Enhanced Business Credit

    • Signature Business Credit

    In addition to the above, the following card types can be used for Level 3 data submission:

    • Corporate Credit

    • Purchasing Credit

    Note

    Commercial Prepaid card type is not eligible.

    The tax identification number issued to the Merchant by their governmental tax agency
    Expand
    titleVisa - Level II Data Requirements

    Level II 2 data must include all Level I 1 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.

    Sales Tax and Order Information - Sales tax information for each transaction including:

    Customer Code

    The unique identifier assigned to customers or entities within the Merchant’s records.

    Merchant Zip Code

    The zip code where the Merchant’s business is located.

    Merchant TIN

    Sales Tax Amount

    The total amount of sales tax applied to the transaction.

    Sales Tax Indicator

    Specify whether sales tax is included in the transaction amount or not.

    Merchant Information - Details about the Merchant selling the product or service items including:

    Note

    Warning: The tax amount must be between 0.1% - 22% of the payment total to qualify. This is submitted using either a Sale or a Capture transaction type.

    Order Number

    A unique identifier used by the merchant to locate the specific transaction information.

    Note: “Order Number”, “Invoice Number”, and “Customer Code” are interchangeable terms for Level 2 and Level 3 data submissions.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros and must contain a relevant value.

    Expand
    titleVisa - Level III Data Requirements

    Level III 3 data must include all Level II 2 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.

    Line Item Details - Must provide detailed information for each item listed in a transaction including:

    Monetary reductions applied to the product or service price for the line Unit

    Discount Amount

    Monetary reductions applied to the transaction total.

    Discount Per Line Item

    Item

    Name or title of the item.

    Invoice numberDescription

    A unique identifier for the transaction's associated customer invoice.

    Item Commodity Code

    Standardized detailed description of the product or service sold.

    Commodity Code

    We recommend using the standardized numerical 7-digit NIGP commodity code used to classify products for customs.

    Attached is a partial list of available 7-digit codes.

    View file
    namenigplist.pdf

    Item Description

    A detailed description of the product or service sold.

    Line Item Total

    Total transaction line item cost, calculated with quantity, unit price, discounts, tax, and shipping.

    Order number

    A unique identifier for the transaction's associated order within your business.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros or spaces and must contain a relevant value.

    Product Code

    A unique identifier used by the Merchant business to identify the specific product.

    Quantity

    The number of units sold.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros or spaces and must contain a relevant value.

    Item Price

    The price per item unit.

    Item Discount

    Monetary reductions applied to the product or service price for the line item.

    Note: This value can be '0' if there is no applicable item discount.

    Quantity

    The number of units sold.

    Unit of Measure

    A standardized unit used to quantify the quantity of the product or service.

    Unit of Cost

    A standardized unit used to measure the cost of a single unit.

    Shipping & Customs Details
    Info

    Examples: each, kilogram, pound, month.

    Item Total

    Total transaction line item cost, calculated with quantity, unit price, discounts, tax, and shipping.

    Discount, Shipping & Duty - Must provide shipping, duty, and tax information (if applicable) including:

    Shipping Amount

    The cost associated with transporting products from Merchant to customer.

    Note: This value can be '0' if there is no applicable shipping amount.

    Duty Amount

    The monetary value of customs duties or taxes related to product import and export.

    Shipping Amount

    The cost associated with transporting products from Merchant to customer.

    Shipping Destination Country

    The country of the address where purchased products will be delivered.

    Shipping Destination Zip Code

    The postal code of the address where purchased products will be delivered.

    Shipping Origin Zip Code

    		The postal code of the address where the purchased products were shipped from

    Note: This value can be '0' if there is no applicable duty amount.

    Order Discount

    Monetary reductions applied to the transaction total.

    Note: This value can be '0' if there is no applicable order discount.

    Tax

    Note: The tax amount can be zero (or the tax field can be omitted entirely). If the Merchant sends a tax amount greater than $0.00, it needs to be between 0.1% & 22% of the transaction amount.

    Expand
    titleVisa - Additional Qualification Requirements

    In addition to the interchange data requirements above, the Visa card network has specific additional requirements to qualify:

    • The transaction must be compliant with the Visa Custom Payment Service (CPS).

    • A ‘capture’ request must follow the ‘authorization’ request:

      • Within 1 business day (no more than 24 hours between auth and capture) or;

      • Within 7 days (for eligible large ticket transactions using corporate/purchasing cards).

    • Transaction must be authorized online and cannot be a cardholder-activated terminal (CAT) location.The transaction must always include a non-zero tax amount

    • Business Card type transactions must always include an Address Verification System (AVS) reference.

    Expand
    titleVisa - Large Ticket Requirements

    Large Ticket transactions refer to transactions with a larger total dollar amount.

    Based Your interchange rate may change based on the transaction amount , your interchange rate may change to offer better pricing from Visa’s large ticket program for high-dollar-value transactions.

    In addition to the data requirements above, the Visa card network has specific additional requirements to qualify for Large Ticket interchange pricing:

    • Clearing must follow authorization within 2 business days (no more than 1 day between auth and capture)

    • The transaction amount must meet ticket thresholds: $6,980+

    Expand
    titleVisa - Prohibited Merchant Business Types (MCCs)
    The
    Note

    Warning: Any of the following Merchant Commercial Code (MCC) types are disqualified from Level

    II

    2 or Level

    III

    3 data submission for interchange rate improvements

    : Visa Non-Compliant MCCs List:

    .

    Non-Compliant MCCs

    Description of Merchant Business Type

    3000–39993000–3299

    Airlines/

    3501-3999

    Car Rental Companies/Hotels

    4112

    Passenger Railways

    4411

    Steamship and Cruise Lines

    4511

    Airlines and Air Carriers

    4722

    Travel Agencies and Tour Operators

    5812

    Eating Places and Restaurants

    5814

    Fast Food Restaurants

    5962

    Direct Marketing – Travel Related Arrangements Services (High Risk)

    5966

    Direct Marketing – Outbound Telemarketing Merchant (High Risk)

    5967

    Direct Marketing – Inbound Teleservices Merchant (High Risk)

    7011

    Lodging – Hotels, Motels, and Resorts

    7512

    Automobile Rental Agency

    7513

    Truck & Utility Trailer Rentals

    7519

    Motor Home and Recreational Vehicle Rentals

    ...

    MasterCard

    Below is a list of MasterCard qualifying card types, interchange requirements, and prohibited merchant types (MCCs). Read more information about MasterCard requirements below:

    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Qualifying Card Types for Interchange Data Submission

    The following card types can be used for Level II & Level III data submission and interchange rates:

  • Business Cards

  • Corporate Cards

    • Purchasing Cards

    2 data submission:

    • Corporate Purchasing

    • Business Credit

    • Enhanced Business Credit

    • Signature Business Credit

    Note: MasterCard uses the term “Data Rate 2 and 3” to refer to Level 2 and Level 3 interchange data when referring to corporate/business purchases and cards.

    In addition to the above, the following card types can be used for Level 3 data submission:

    • Corporate Credit

    • Purchasing Credit

    Note

    Commercial Prepaid card type is not eligible.

    Note

    Warning: The following card types are ineligible for Level III interchange 3 data submission with MasterCard:

    • MBS - Mastercard B2B Product 1

    • MEF - Mastercard Electronic Payment Account

    The tax identification number issued to the Merchant by their governmental tax agency
    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Level II Data Requirements

    Level II 2 data must include all Level I 1 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.

    Sales Tax Information - Sales tax information for each transaction including:

    Customer Code

    The unique identifier assigned to customers or entities within the Merchant’s records.

    Merchant TIN

    Sales Tax Amount

    The total amount of sales tax applied to the transaction.

    Sales Tax Indicator

    Specify whether sales tax is included in the transaction amount or not.

    Merchant Information - Details about the Merchant selling the product or service items including:

    Note

    Warning: The tax amount must be between 0.1% - 30% of the payment total to qualify. This is submitted using either a Sale or a Capture transaction type.

    Order Number

    A unique identifier used by the merchant to locate the specific transaction information.

    Note: “Order Number”, “Invoice Number”, and “Customer Code” are interchangeable terms for Level 2 and Level 3 data submissions.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros and must contain a relevant value.

    Monetary reductions applied to the transaction total.

    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Level III Data Requirements

    Level III 3 data must include all Level II 2 data requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.

    Line Item Details - Must provide detailed information for each item listed in a transaction including:

    Discount Amount

    Discount Per Line Item

    Monetary reductions applied to the product or service price for the line Name or title of the item.

    Item Description

    A detailed description of the product or service sold.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros or spaces and must contain a relevant value.

    Line Item Total

    Total transaction line item cost, calculated with quantity, unit price, discounts, tax, and shipping.

    Product Code

    A unique identifier used by the Merchant business to identify the specific product.

    Note

    Warning: This field cannot be blank, null, or all zeros or spaces and must contain a relevant value.

    Quantity

    The number of units sold.

    Unit of Measure

    A standardized unit used to quantify the quantity of the product or service.

    Note: When submitting a Level 3 transaction, the tax amount must be a percent between 0.1% & 30% of the transaction; it cannot be zero unless tax-exempt status is enabled by the Facilitator.

    Note

    Warning: The following card types are ineligible for Level III 3 interchange with MasterCard:

    • MBS - Mastercard B2B Product 1

    • MEF - Mastercard Electronic Payment Account

    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Additional Qualification Requirements

    In addition to the interchange data requirements above, the MasterCard card network has specific additional requirements to qualify:

    • Clearing must follow an authorization request within 3 business days (no more than 2 days between auth Authorization and captureCapture).

    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Large Ticket Requirements

    Large Ticket transactions refer to transactions with a larger total dollar amount. Based Your interchange rate may change based on the transaction amount , your interchange rate may change to offer better pricing from MasterCard’s large ticket program for high-dollar-value transactions.

    In addition to the data requirements above, the MasterCard network has specific additional requirements to qualify for Large Ticket interchange pricing:

    • Clearing must follow authorization within 2 business days (no more than 1 day between auth and capture).

    • The transaction amount must meet ticket thresholds: $7,255+

    Note

    Warning: The following card types are ineligible for MasterCard’s large ticket program:

    • MAP - Mastercard Commercial Payments Account

    • MAQ - Mastercard Prepaid Commercial Payments Account

    • MEF - Mastercard Electronic Payment Account

    The
    Expand
    titleMasterCard - Prohibited Merchant Business Types (MCCs)
    Note

    Warning: Any of the following Merchant Commercial Code (MCC) types are disqualified from Level

    II

    2 or Level

    III

    3 data submission for interchange rate improvements

    :

    .

    MasterCard Non-Compliant MCCs List:

    Non-Compliant MCCs

    Description of Merchant Business Type

    3000–3999

    3000–3299

    Airlines

    /

    3501-3999

    Car Rental Companies/Hotels

    4112

    Passenger Railways

    4411

    Steamship and Cruise Lines

    4511

    Airlines and Air Carriers

    4722

    Travel Agencies and Tour Operators

    5812

    Eating Places and Restaurants

    5814

    Fast Food Restaurants

    5962

    Direct Marketing – Travel Related Arrangements Services (High Risk)

    5966

    Direct Marketing – Outbound Telemarketing Merchant (High Risk)

    5967

    Direct Marketing – Inbound Teleservices Merchant (High Risk)

    7011

    Lodging – Hotels, Motels, and Resorts

    7512

    Automobile Rental Agency

    7513

    Truck & Utility Trailer Rentals

    7519

    Motor Home and Recreational Vehicle Rentals

    ...

    American Express

    ...

    Merchants processing American Express transactions are required to obtain pre-approval before initiating Level II data processing. Level II data parameters from Visa or MasterCard would apply here.

    To receive approval, Merchants must submit a “Level 2 Merchant’s Validation Documentation” which includes summaries from Quarterly Network Scan and a completed PCI Self Assessment Questionaire. Once granted, American Express accepts both Level I and Level II data, offering Level II interchange rates.

    Visit the American Express US Data Security site for more information.

    Warning

    Unavailable: American Express does not offer discounts or changes in interchanges rates for Level III data submissions

    Discover

    ...

    & Discover

    There is no additional work or line item data submission required by American Express or Discover.

    Both card brands provide lower interchange rates on their respective networks, calculated and adjusted based exclusively on the cardholder’s card type (e.g. business card, corporate card, etc.).