Merchant Account for an Ecommerce Store
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Online sales are card-not-present sales, which Visa monitors on their own. This page summarizes Visa's published guidance for card-absent merchants and what processors say about reserves and risk. It does not promise approval.
Nothing on this page is an approval or a guarantee. Each provider decides on its own whether to open an account and on what terms, and it can change its policies at any time.
What Visa calls this business
Visa assigns each merchant a four-digit category code. This is Visa’s own wording, from its Merchant Data Standards Manual (April 2026).
MCC 5964: Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchant
Merchants classified with this MCC sell a variety of goods via catalogs and offer no means by which customers may purchase products in a face-to-face manner.
Source: PDF page 82.
MCC 5969: Direct Marketing – Other Direct Marketers (Not Elsewhere Classified)
Merchants classified with this MCC sell products or services through a variety of direct response methods that include an order form or an address and/or telephone number the customer may use to place an order by mail, telephone, or fax and that are not classified with a more specific MCC.
Source: PDF page 83.
MCC 5999: Miscellaneous and Specialty Retail Shops
Merchants classified with this MCC sell unique or specialized products that are not classified with a more specific MCC.
Source: PDF page 86.
Search all merchant category codes
Protecting card-not-present sales
Visa lists specific checks that can give your acquirer grounds to respond to a dispute.
For card-absent sales Visa says AVS and CVV2 checks can give your acquirer grounds to respond to some disputes; for an AVS match it says you need proof of the shipping address and signed proof of delivery when the billing and shipping addresses are the same.
Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024)· Checked 2026-10-15
Visa says merchants that authenticate a card-absent sale with Visa Secure are protected by their acquirer from certain fraud-related disputes when the transaction is processed correctly.
Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024)· Checked 2026-10-15
Shipping and delivery
For card-absent sales Visa says not to deposit the transaction until the merchandise has shipped, because customers who see a charge before they receive the goods may dispute it.
Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024)· Checked 2026-10-15
Visa says that if goods or services will be delayed you should tell the cardholder in writing about the delay and the new expected date, and that if an item is out of stock you should not substitute another unless the customer agrees.
Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024)· Checked 2026-10-15
Visa says cardholders must be able to recognize your name on their statements, and tells merchants to check with their acquirer that the doing-business-as name, city and state are correct.
Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024)· Checked 2026-10-15
How Visa measures disputes online
Visa's monitoring program uses one ratio for card-not-present transactions.
Visa’s monitoring program uses one count-based ratio for card-not-present transactions: fraud reports plus disputes, divided by settled transactions.
Visa: Acquirer Monitoring Program fact sheet (2025)· Checked 2026-10-15
Visa’s fact sheet sets the “Excessive Merchant” level at a ratio of 220 basis points (2.2%) with at least 1,500 monthly fraud and dispute counts in the U.S., and a footnote says the threshold dropped to 150 basis points (1.5%) on 1 April 2026.
Visa: Acquirer Monitoring Program fact sheet (2025)· Checked 2026-10-15
What processors say about online risk
Stripe’s explainer says high-risk status can come from the industry, chargeback history, financial history, or card-not-present and high-ticket sales, and names tobacco and vaping, CBD and cannabis dispensaries, travel, memberships and subscription box services among industries often treated as high risk.
Stripe: High-risk merchant accounts explained (May 12, 2026)· Checked 2026-10-15
Square lists what it considers before placing a reserve: prepayment for goods or services, chargeback rates in your industry (it names home contracting and repair, professional services, travel and tourism, and custom-made products), your own chargeback rate, sporadic processing activity, and being new to Square.
Square Help: Manage payment reserves with Square· Checked 2026-10-15
Questions to ask a provider before you apply
These are questions, not claims about any provider. Get the answers in writing.
- Does the provider support AVS, CVV2 and Visa Secure (3-D Secure) on your checkout?
- What is the dispute fee, and is it refunded if you win?
- Which store platforms connect to it? See our Shopify review.
- Are there extra fees for international cards or currency conversion?
- Does the provider ever hold funds, and when?
Frequently asked questions
Is an online store high risk?
Visa’s list of high integrity risk categories does not include ordinary online retail, but some products sold online are on it, such as tobacco and pharmacy items. Stripe’s explainer says shops that sell electronics or jewelry, subscription box services and dropshipping are sometimes treated as higher risk. Policies differ by provider.
Do I need to ship before I charge?
Visa says not to deposit a card-absent transaction until the merchandise has shipped, because customers who see the charge early may dispute it.
What does Visa call an online store?
There is no single code. Visa lists catalog and direct marketing categories such as 5964 and 5969, and miscellaneous retail 5999. Your acquirer assigns the code that matches your primary business.
Sources for this page
- Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) (Checked 2026-10-15)
- Visa: Acquirer Monitoring Program fact sheet (2025) (Checked 2026-10-15)
- Stripe: High-risk merchant accounts explained (May 12, 2026) (Checked 2026-10-15)
- Square Help: Manage payment reserves with Square (Checked 2026-10-15)
- Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual (April 2026), Section 2: Merchant Category Code Listing (Checked 2026-10-15)