There are three credit card processing levels: Level I, Level II, and Level III (also called Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3). Each level each requires varying levels of information about the transaction. You can save on processing fees sending Level II or Level III data with transactions. By including Level II and Level III data, you can influence interchange rates and bring down the per-transaction costs, often saving between .30% and 1.10%.

1

Level I

Level I transactions are the most basic, and are typically between a business and an individual consumer (B2C). These transactions require the least amount of information.

2

Level II

Level II transactions require more detail than Level I transactions. These are typically business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

3

Level III

Level III transactions require the most information. These are often business-to-government (B2G) or large transactions.

If you deal with B2B transactions, it’s best practice to send as much of the Level II and Level III data you have with the transaction.

This table shows the required transaction data for each level of processing. A checkmark indicates the field is required.

FieldLevel ILevel IILevel III
Merchant Name✅✅✅
Transaction Amount (Total)✅✅✅
Date✅✅✅
Tax Amount✅✅
Customer Code✅✅
Merchant Postal Code✅✅
Tax Identification✅✅
Merchant Minority Code✅✅
Merchant State Code✅✅
Ship from Postal Code✅
Destination Postal Code✅
Invoice Number✅
Order Number✅
Item Product Code✅
Item Commodity Code✅
Item Description✅
Item Quantity✅
Item Unit of Measure✅
Item Extended Amount✅
Freight Amount✅
Duty Amount✅

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