Levels 2 and 3

What is it? Payment transactions made with a card are categorized into Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 based on the specific data required during processing. Levels 2 and 3 data impact interchange fees and are primarily used for business-to-business (B2B) and government transactions, but can be sent on any transaction, even those that won’t qualify for the level 2 and 3 interchange rates.

Level 1 The most basic level. It’s seen on most consumer transactions, and carries the highest processing costs. Transactions qualifying for level 1 include basic payment data like card number, card security code, amount, transaction date, acceptor, and merchant category code (MCC).

Level 2 Suitable for corporate card transactions, level 2 offers lower interchange fees than Level 1 because it requires additional transaction details to reduce risk. Depending on the card brand, level 2 data includes taxes, customer details, and ship to information, in addition to the level 1 information.

Level 3 The most detailed level and suitable for B2B and government transactions, level 3 allows you to qualify for several different B2B interchange categories. Level 3 includes all level 2 fields, plus extensive line item details like product code, commodity code, unit amounts and quantities, duties, shipping amounts, and more.

In summary, providing more information on a transaction can increase its “level” and help businesses save on processing fees by providing more transparency to card networks. You can send level 2 and level 3 data on any transaction, even if it doesn’t qualify for the level 2 or level 3 interchange rate.

When to Use

You want to qualify for lower interchange rates on eligible transactions.
You have detailed transaction information available (tax amounts, line items, etc.).

ScenarioA business purchases ten custom items from Maple Street Coffee, one of Clearpath Payment’s acceptors, for $2,000. To qualify for lower interchange rates, Clearpath Payments includes Level 3 data on Maple Street Coffee’s behalf — tax information, shipping details, and a line item for each product.

Restrictions

Level 2 is supported by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Level 3 is supported by Visa and Mastercard.The following MCC codes are restricted from Level 2 and 3 processing:

3000-3299, 4511 - Airlines (Visa/Mastercard)
3351-3500, 7512 - Car Rentals / Auto Rental (Visa/Mastercard)
7519 - Car Rentals (Mastercard)
4411 - Cruise Lines (Visa)
4112 - Passenger Railways (Visa/Mastercard)
5962, 5966, 5967 - High Risk Direct Marketing (Visa)
3501-4010, 7011 - Hotel (Visa/Mastercard)
5812 - Restaurants (Visa/Mastercard)
5814 - Fast Food Restaurants (Visa)
4722 - Travel Agents (Visa)
7513 - Truck and Utility Trailer Rentals (Visa/Mastercard)
8398 - Organizations, Charitable and Social Service (Level 3 restriction: Mastercard not eligible)
4468 - Marine Service & Supplies (Level 3 restriction: Fleet Mastercards not eligible)
5541 - Service Stations (Level 3 restriction: Fleet Mastercards not eligible)
5542 - Automated Fuel Dispensers (Level 3 restriction: Fleet Mastercards not eligible)
5499 - Misc. Food, Convenience, & Specialty Markets (Level 3 restriction: Fleet Mastercards not eligible)
5983 - Fuel Dealers (Level 3 restriction: Fleet Mastercards not eligible)

Implementation

Level 2

To qualify for level 2, you must provide the following information on the authorization and capture:

{
  "transactionAmountDetails": {
  "totalTaxAmount": "",
  "localTaxAmount": "",
  "nationalTaxAmount": ""
},
  "orderDetails": {
  "customerDetails": {
  "reference": "",
  "firstName": "",
  "lastName": "",
  "email": "",
  "phoneNumber": ""
},
  "shipToAddress": {
  "address1": "",
  "state": "",
  "postalCode": "",
  "countryCode": ""
}
}
}

Level 3

To qualify for level 3, you must provide everything for level 2 as well as the following:

{
  "transactionAmountDetails": {
  "DiscountAmount": "",
  "ShippingAmount": "",
  "DutyAmount": ""
},
  "lineItems": [
{
  "productSku":"8675310",
  "commodityCode": "12",
  "productCode": "24",
  "description": "LineItem1",
  "unitQuantity": "1",
  "unitOfMeasure": "feet",
  "unitPrice": "11",
  "discount": { "amount": "1" },
  "lineItemAmount": "10"
},
{
  "productSku":"8675311",
  "commodityCode": "10",
  "productCode": "20",
  "description": "LineItem2",
  "unitQuantity": "2",
  "unitOfMeasure": "feet",
  "unitPrice": "6",
  "discount": { "amount": "2" },
  "lineItemAmount": "10"
}
]
}

mutation AuthorizeCITWithLevel2($input: AuthorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput!) {
  authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction(
    authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput: $input
  ) {
    authorizationResponse {
      status: __typename
      cardDetails {
        paymentBrand
        last4
      }
      tokenDetails {
        token
      }
      transactionId
      paymentId
    }
    errors {
      ... on Error {
        message
        __typename
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "input": {
    "acceptorId": "05a39b14-f29f-443b-a107-da3e3e8969fb",
    "transactionReference": "68448abe-735b-4ee3-af14-d0f50a091c9b",
    "paymentMethodDetails": {
      "cardWithPanDetails": {
        "expirationMonth": "09",
        "expirationYear": "2051",
        "accountNumber": "5188690009946204",
        "paymentEntryMode": "PAYMENT_METHOD_ON_FILE",
        "paymentChannel": "ECOMM",
        "securityCode": {
          "omissionReason": "VERIFICATION_NOT_REQUESTED"
        }
      }
    },
    "transactionAmountDetails": {
      "totalAmount": 100.99,
      "localTaxAmount": "1.99",
      "nationalTaxAmount": "2.99",
      "currency": "USD"
    },
    "orderDetails": {
      "customerDetails": {
        "reference": "ABC12345",
        "firstName": "Michael",
        "lastName": "Scott",
        "email": "mscott@office.com",
        "phoneNumber": "6178675309"
      },
      "shipToAddress": {
        "address1": "702 N Washington Ave",
        "city": "Scranton",
        "state": "PA",
        "postalCode": "18509",
        "countryCode": "USA"
      }
    }
  }
}

mutation AuthorizeCITWithLevel3($input: AuthorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput!) {
  authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction(
    authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransactionInput: $input
  ) {
    authorizationResponse {
      status: __typename
      cardDetails {
        paymentBrand
        last4
      }
      tokenDetails {
        token
      }
      transactionId
      paymentId
    }
    errors {
      ... on Error {
        message
        __typename
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "input": {
    "acceptorId": "05a39b14-f29f-443b-a107-da3e3e8969fb",
    "transactionReference": "68448abe-735b-4ee3-af14-d0f50a091c9b",
    "paymentMethodDetails": {
      "cardWithPanDetails": {
        "expirationMonth": "09",
        "expirationYear": "2051",
        "accountNumber": "5188690009946204",
        "paymentEntryMode": "PAYMENT_METHOD_ON_FILE",
        "paymentChannel": "ECOMM",
        "securityCode": {
          "omissionReason": "VERIFICATION_NOT_REQUESTED"
        }
      }
    },
    "transactionAmountDetails": {
      "totalAmount": 100.99,
      "DiscountAmount": "1.00",
      "ShippingAmount": "2.00",
      "DutyAmount": "0.99",
      "currency": "USD"
    },
    "lineItems": [
      {
        "productSku": "8675310",
        "commodityCode": "12",
        "productCode": "24",
        "description": "LineItem1",
        "unitQuantity": "1",
        "unitOfMeasure": "feet",
        "unitPrice": "11",
        "discount": {
          "amount": "1"
        },
        "lineItemAmount": "10"
      },
      {
        "productSku": "8675311",
        "commodityCode": "10",
        "productCode": "20",
        "description": "LineItem2",
        "unitQuantity": "2",
        "unitOfMeasure": "feet",
        "unitPrice": "6",
        "discount": {
          "amount": "2"
        },
        "lineItemAmount": "10"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response

{
  "data": {
    "authorizeCustomerInitiatedTransaction": {
      "authorizationResponse": {
        "status": "AuthorizationApproval",
        "networkApprovalCode": "808907",
        "authorizationAmountDetails": {
          "approvedAmount": 36,
          "requestedAmount": 36,
          "currency": "USD"
        },
        "cardDetails": {
          "paymentBrand": "VISA",
          "last4": "0005"
        },
        "tokenDetails": {
          "token": "ae1d0699-a5f3-4548-aaa8-068b57564118"
        },
        "transactionId": "c0b554b8-7819-11ee-acb0-7445f363cd81",
        "paymentId": "c0b554b8-7819-11ee-acb0-7445f363cd81",
        "systemTraceAuditNumber": "808040",
        "networkResponseDetails": {
          "processorResponseCode": "A0000",
          "networkResponseCode": "00"
        },
        "avsResponseDetails": {
          "networkCode": null
        }
      },
      "errors": null
    }
  }
}

Card transactions

Bank transfers

Managing fees

Restrictions

Implementation

Level 2

Level 3

​Restrictions

​Implementation

​Level 2

​Level 3

Restrictions

Implementation

Level 2

Level 3