---
id: iso18245
version: "1.4.1"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# iso18245 — The ISO 18245 Merchant Category Codes database

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 92.8K/mo

## What it is and what it does

iso18245 is a Python library that wraps the ISO 18245 Merchant Category Codes standard into a queryable database. It lets you look up an MCC code (a four-digit number used by payment processors to classify merchants) and retrieve standardized descriptions from multiple sources: the ISO standard itself, USDA definitions, and Stripe's merchant category taxonomy. The library returns structured data including the MCC range, whether it's reserved for private use, and descriptions from each standard.

You'd use this when building payment processing systems, merchant onboarding flows, or financial reporting tools that need to classify or display merchant types consistently. The single runtime dependency (importlib_resources) keeps installation lightweight. It supports Python 3.8 through 3.13 and is marked production-stable.

Use it for:

- Classify merchants by category in payment processing or invoicing systems using standard MCC codes.
- Display human-readable merchant types to end users in fintech or accounting applications.
- Validate or normalize merchant category codes submitted in API requests or forms.
- Build merchant reporting dashboards that group transactions by ISO-standard category.
- Integrate merchant classification into compliance or risk-assessment workflows.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides lookup access to ISO 18245 Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) with descriptions from ISO, USDA, and Stripe standards.

Yes. The package solves a specific, real problem (MCC lookup) with low friction, permissive licensing, and no known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to work with merchant category codes in payment or financial systems. The aging maintenance status (345 days since last release) is not a blocker for a reference database, but verify that the MCC data meets your recency requirements.

## Install

pip install iso18245
uv add iso18245
poetry add iso18245

## Installing iso18245

Before you install: Low install friction with a single pure-Python dependency. Repository shows active maintenance with a recent commit and stable production status, though the last release was 345 days ago.

License in practice: MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions—suitable for most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install iso18245

import iso18245
mcc = iso18245.get_mcc("5542")
print(mcc.iso_description)  # 'Automated fuel dispensers'

Verify before relying:

- Whether the MCC database is updated regularly to reflect changes in ISO 18245 standards or payment processor classifications.
- Performance characteristics when querying large numbers of codes or in high-throughput scenarios.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 92.8K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

merchant category code lookup, ISO 18245 MCC database, credit card merchant codes, MCC code resolver, payment category classification, merchant code reference, card processor MCC data, payment-processing, merchant-data, financial-standards

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