MCC code5 min readUpdated October 15, 2026

MCC 4900: Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary

MCC 4900 is Visa's code for power, gas, water and waste utilities. What it covers, 4900 vs 4814 and 4899, Visa's service fee rules, and rewards.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 5 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

MCC 4900 is the merchant category code for utilities: companies that generate, transmit or distribute electricity or gas, supply water, or collect and dispose of refuse. Phone and mobile service is not 4900 but 4814. In the US, Canada and Egypt, Visa lets 4900 merchants charge a disclosed service fee on card payments.

Visa's definition covers electricity, gas, water supply and refuse collection. Garbage collectors and waste management services are included.
Phone service is 4814, pay TV and streaming 4899, heating oil and propane dealers 5983, government services 9399.
4900 is one of the few codes allowed to charge a Visa service fee in the US, Canada and Egypt (Core Rules, Table 5-6).
A registered bill payment app can pass a utility's 4900 through in every Visa region. Otherwise the payment falls to 4829.
4900 isn't high risk. Stripe calls it "Utilities" and doesn't restrict it.

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On this page

You saw "4900" next to an electricity, gas or water bill, or in a payment dashboard. It's the merchant category code for utilities. Here is Visa's exact wording, the codes it gets confused with, and the Visa rules that treat utility payments differently.

What MCC 4900 means

MCC 4900 is the four-digit code for Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary. Visa defines it this way:1

Merchants classified with this MCC provide the ongoing generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric or gas power or other utility services. This MCC also includes Merchants that provide water supply system services and Merchants primarily engaged in the collection and disposal of refuse.

Visa, Merchant Data Standards Manual, April 2026

Visa's "Included in this MCC" column lists electric, gas, sanitary and water utilities, public utilities, garbage collectors and waste management services. The only similar code it names is 4814, telecommunication services.1

The telecom confusion. Some guides put phone service under 4900. Visa doesn't. CardExpress, a community-reported directory, lists Jio, Airtel, Amazon Pay bills and Mobikwik as seen on 4900 in India, and warns that codes vary by acquirer, city and channel.5 That shows how some acquirers set the code, not Visa's definition.

Codes it is not: 4900 vs 4814, 4899, 9399, 5983 and 4214

MCC	Visa title	Use it when
4900	Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary	You supply power, gas or water, or collect refuse
4814	Telecommunication Services	You bill phone, mobile or fax service
4899	Cable, Satellite and Other Pay Television/Radio/Streaming Services	You deliver TV, radio or streaming content
9399	Government Services (Not Elsewhere Classified)	A government office with no more specific code, such as a DMV or library
5983	Fuel Dealers – Fuel Oil, Wood, Coal, and Liquefied Petroleum	You sell heating oil, propane, wood or coal, not a network service
4214	Motor Freight Carriers and Trucking (Local and Long Distance), Moving and Storage Companies, and Local Delivery Services	You haul goods; refuse collection stays on 4900
4829	Money Transfer	A bill payment service that isn't registered with Visa's program

Verdict

Power, gas, water or waste through a network or route: 4900. Phone: 4814. TV and streaming: 4899. Delivered fuel: 5983.

Visa rules that name MCC 4900

None of the top search results cover these. All come from Visa's Core Rules of April 18, 2026.2

Rule	What it says about 4900	Where
Service fee	4900 may charge a service fee in the US, Canada and Egypt	5.5.3.1, Table 5-6, p. 396-397
Bill payment providers	A registered consumer bill payment service can carry the utility's 4900 in every region (Argentina excluded). If not, the biller must use 4829	5.12.1, Table 5-35, p. 500-505
Payment facilitators	Sub-merchants on 4900 above USD 1 million a year are exempt from the direct acquirer agreement	5.3.1.4, p. 369
Visa Secure, Philippines	E-commerce merchants on 4900 must process with Visa Secure (EMV 3DS)	Table 5-17, p. 441
B2B payment platforms	4900 suppliers are eligible only if the buyer can give Visa a business or tax ID on request	5.12.2.1, p. 508
Overdue utility bills	A collector recovering a "utility bill" for someone else must disclose it first; repayment uses 6012, 6051 or 7322, not 4900, and can't be paid by credit card	5.8.23.1, p. 486; 5.8.13, Table 5-29, p. 473-474

Service fee, convenience fee or surcharge. They are three different things, and Visa forbids stacking them. A service fee is open only to permitted codes like 4900. It must be called a service fee, disclosed before payment with a free way to cancel, reflect the real cost of card acceptance, and the utility must take Visa in every channel. In Canada it is capped at 1.5% for debit and 2.5% for credit and prepaid.2 A convenience fee, in the US and Asia-Pacific, is a flat charge for an alternative channel, never on recurring payments.2 A surcharge applies to credit cards: see our credit card surcharge guide.

For cardholders and merchants

Rewards. Each issuing bank decides how 4900 earns. Utilities are a common exclusion: SBI Card's Cashback card earns no cashback on utility payments.4 CardExpress reports that 4 of the 19 Indian cards it tracks exclude 4900.5 If you pay through a bill payment app, the code may be 4829 or the app's own, not 4900. Read your card's terms.

Merchants. Stripe lists 4900 as utilities, labeled "Utilities", neither restricted nor prohibited.3 It isn't on Visa's high-risk list.1 Only your acquirer sets or changes the code: see how to find your MCC code.

Updated on October 15, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

What is MCC 4900?

MCC 4900 is the merchant category code for utilities. Visa uses it for merchants that generate, transmit or distribute electricity or gas, supply water, or mainly collect and dispose of refuse. It tells your bank that a card payment went to a power, gas, water or waste company.

What is the description of MCC 4900?

Visa's April 2026 title is "Utilities – Electric, Gas, Water, and Sanitary". Its "Included in this MCC" column lists electric, gas, sanitary and water utilities, public utilities, garbage collectors and waste management services. Stripe shortens it to "Utilities".

Is a phone or mobile bill MCC 4900?

Not under Visa's manual. Phone and mobile service is 4814, and cable, satellite and streaming is 4899. Some directories report Indian telecom operators or bill payment apps under 4900, but that reflects how one acquirer set the code, not Visa's definition.

Can a utility charge a fee for paying by card?

In the US, Canada and Egypt, Visa lets 4900 merchants charge a service fee. It must be disclosed as a service fee before you pay, with a way to cancel at no cost, and it can't be added on top of a surcharge or a convenience fee. In Canada it is capped at 1.5% for debit and 2.5% for credit and prepaid cards.

Sources

Checked October 15, 2026

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