Jan 10, 2019 2 min
What Are B2B Transactions?
A B2B transaction is simply a transaction where the customer is another business rather than an individual consumer. The transaction may involve goods, services, or a combination of both. You’ll also hear the term B2G (business-to-government) transaction, which describes transactions between a business and a local, state, or Federal government agency.
Merchant Category Codes (or MCC codes) are assigned by the credit card associations to classify businesses according to the products and services they provide. Before you can take advantage of the lower interchange rates available for B2B transactions, you’ll need to be assigned an MCC code that identifies you as a B2B merchant. Unfortunately, all the major credit card associations have their own set of MCC codes, and they all treat them differently when it comes to B2B transactions. Visa, for example, will offer you a discounted interchange rate on B2B transactions if you’re assigned a qualifying MCC code and meet certain other criteria. MasterCard also uses MCC codes, but doesn’t offer a discount for B2B transactions.
Now comes the important part.
Data Levels.
In addition to being a properly-coded B2B merchant, you’ll need to submit additional payment data with each B2B transaction to be eligible for discounted processing rates. Credit card associations recognize three levels of payment data: Level I, Level II, and Level III data. Once again, the major credit card associations have their own separate ways of classifying and treating this data. Visa, for example, refers to these three data categories as “data levels,” while MasterCard calls them “data rates.” Processing of Level II and III data is further complicated by the fact that once again, the credit card associations have separate policies for handling this additional data. Discover, for example, only handles Level I data and won’t give you any discount on interchange rates for submitting Level II or III data. American Express, on the other hand, accepts both Level I and II data, but not Level III data. Acceptance of Level II data also requires prior approval for your business directly from American Express. Visa and MasterCard have the most liberal policies, accepting all three levels of credit card data without the need for prior approval. Note that you will still need to be properly coded with a Merchant Category Code identifying you as a B2B merchant.
Level I data is required for all transactions, B2B or otherwise, and generally includes the following fields:
Merchant DBA name
Transaction amount
Billing zip code
Level II data includes all Level I data, and the following additional fields:
Sales tax amount
Customer code
Merchant postal code
Merchant tax identification number
Invoice number
Order number
Level III data includes all Level I and Level II data, plus the following additional fields:
Product commodity code
Item ID or SKU
Item description
Unit price
Quantity
Unit of measure (each)
Extended price
Line discount
As you can see, entering Level III data requires a lot of additional data for each transaction. You need a partner that understands how b2b transactions work and is capable of processing at higher data levels. Not all processing can process handle the increased requirements.
Some clients level I data is sufficient, other clients could benefit from Level II data and then there are some which need level III data. Let’s speak and discuss your needs.
CARDZ3N
Technology with a Human Touch
702-623-3528
contact@cardz3n.com
