All codesContracted ServicesMedium Risk

1520General Contractors — Residential & Commercial

Covers residential and commercial building contractors. Higher ticket sizes and delayed delivery increase dispute risk.

Networks:VisaMastercardAmexDiscover

Merchants Using MCC 1520

Well-known businesses assigned this code

DR HortonLennarLocal home builders

Risk Assessment

May require additional documentation or slightly higher processing fees. Some processors apply enhanced monitoring.

Common Use Cases

  • Home construction
  • Commercial building
  • Renovation projects

Category Details

Category
Contracted Services
MCC Range
1500–2999
Description
General contractors, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and special trade contractors.

Why MCC Codes Matter for Your Business

Your MCC code directly affects how card networks and processors treat your transactions.

Approval Rate Impact

Processors have different acceptance rates per MCC. A misclassified code can silently tank your approval rate by 5-15%, costing revenue on every declined transaction.

Interchange Fees

The interchange fee you pay on every transaction is directly tied to your MCC code. Some categories pay 0.5% less per transaction — at scale, that compounds into significant savings or hidden costs.

Chargeback Thresholds

Visa and Mastercard set different chargeback monitoring thresholds per MCC category. High-risk MCCs face stricter limits — exceeding them triggers fines, reserve requirements, or account termination.

Wrong MCC = Serious Risk

An incorrect MCC assignment means you could be paying inflated fees, hitting the wrong chargeback program, or worse — facing account termination for "MCC mismatch" during a processor audit.

Tagada Optimizes Routing by MCC Code

Tagada's payment orchestration engine analyzes your MCC code to route each transaction to the processor with the highest approval rate and lowest fees for that specific merchant category. For MCC 1520, this means your general contractors — residential & commercial transactions are automatically sent through the optimal path in your processor stack.

Related Payment Terms

Frequently Asked Questions

What is MCC 1520?

MCC 1520 is assigned to general contractors involved in residential and commercial building construction.

Why is MCC 1520 medium risk?

General contracting involves large transaction amounts, delayed service delivery, and potential disputes over project completion — factors that increase chargeback risk.

What payment challenges do contractors face?

Contractors deal with large deposits, milestone payments, and project delays that can trigger chargebacks. Payment orchestration helps by splitting payments across milestones.

Tagada Platform

Optimize MCC 1520 payments with Tagada

Tagada's intelligent routing engine optimizes MCC 1520 transactions for the best approval rate, lowest fees, and fastest settlement across your processor stack.