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Restricted Transactions — MCC, Countries & Currencies

Written by Max

Certain card transactions are restricted based on merchant category, merchant country, or currency. If a payment is declined and falls into one of the categories below, this is why — it's not something support can override.


Restricted Merchant Categories (MCC)

Transactions at merchants with the following category codes are not permitted:

MCC

Category

5122

Drugs, drug proprietaries, druggist sundries

5169

Chemicals and allied products

5960

Direct marketing — insurance services

5962

Direct marketing — travel services

5966

Direct marketing — outbound telemarketing

7273

Dating and escort services

7297

Massage parlors

7801

Government-licensed gambling


Restricted Merchant Countries

Transactions at merchants located in the following countries are not permitted:

Country

ISO-3

Afghanistan

AFG

Belarus

BLR

Bosnia and Herzegovina

BIH

Central African Republic

CAF

Cuba

CUB

Democratic Republic of the Congo

COD

Ethiopia

ETH

Iran

IRN

Iraq

IRQ

Lebanon

LBN

Libya

LBY

Myanmar

MMR

Nicaragua

NIC

North Korea

PRK

Palestine

PSE

Russia

RUS

Sudan

SDN

Syria

SYR

Venezuela

VEN

Zimbabwe

ZWE


Restricted Currencies

Transactions in the following currencies are not permitted:

Currency

Code

Bangladeshi Taka

BDT

Bahraini Dinar

BHD

Belarusian Ruble (new)

BYN

Belarusian Ruble (old)

BYR

Pakistani Rupee

PKR

Russian Ruble

RUB

Saudi Riyal

SAR


FAQ

My payment was declined — is this why? If the merchant falls into a restricted category, is located in a restricted country, or the transaction currency is on the list above, the payment will always be declined — this is a platform-wide restriction, not something specific to your account.

Can support make an exception? No — these restrictions apply to all users and cannot be lifted on request.

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