In the United States region, Visa allows eligible merchants to charge an optional service fee for government, tax, education, and utility payments under the following eligible Merchant Category Codes (MCCs):
- 4900: Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary
- 8211: Elementary and Secondary Schools
- 8220: Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges
- 8244: Business and Secondary Schools
- 8249: Vocational and Trade Schools
- 9211: Court Costs, Including Alimony and Child Support
- 9222: Fines
- 9311: Tax Payments
- 9399: Government Services (Not Elsewhere Classified)
What is changing?
Visa is updating the rules for service fees charged under these MCCs. If you choose to charge a service fee, from January 23, 2027 for MCC 9311, and April 30, 2027 for the other MCCs listed above, it must be a fixed, flat amount of no more than 10 USD per transaction.
If you process transactions under the eligible MCCs and apply a service fee for consumer debit and consumer prepaid transactions, you must:
- Set the service fee as a fixed, flat amount of no more than 10 USD per transaction
- Update your checkout pages before the compliance date applicable to your MCC
- Continue to meet Visa’s existing requirements, including any applicable service fee disclosure requirements
- Ensure that the service fee reasonably reflects the costs associated with completing the transaction
If you don’t charge service fees, this update does not require any action.