Merchant category codes

MCC 5912: Drug Stores and Pharmacies

MCC 5912 is the merchant category code for drug stores and pharmacies. It tells every card network what kind of business you are, and that decides which interchange rates your sales can qualify for.

Written by Robert Day, Founder and Managing Partner of weAudit.com, previously an executive at Fifth Third Processing Solutions, later Vantiv and Worldpay, now part of Global Payments, the world’s largest card processor. Published October 2026.

MCC 5912 at a glance

5912

Name: Drug Stores and Pharmacies

Pharmacies and drug stores, including independent pharmacies.

Seeing it on your own card statement?

It means the business is classified as a pharmacy. Health savings and flexible spending cards are often set up to work at pharmacy codes.

What MCC 5912 covers

MCC 5912 covers drug stores and pharmacies that sell prescription and over-the-counter medicines and health products to the public.

Code	Name	How it differs
5912	Drug Stores and Pharmacies	Retail pharmacies
5122	Drugs and Druggists’ Sundries	Wholesale drug distribution
5411	Grocery Stores and Supermarkets	Grocery retail, including in-store pharmacies under some setups
8099	Medical Services, Not Elsewhere Classified	Health services

Why the code changes what a business pays

Pharmacies depend on health savings and flexible spending cards, and those cards are often set up to work only at healthcare and pharmacy codes. Pharmacy sales also have their own interchange treatment. A pharmacy coded as general retail can pay more and see customers’ health cards decline.

The code is set when the account is opened, usually by whoever filled in the application. Nobody checks it again unless you ask. A wrong code costs money on every sale for as long as the account is open, and it never appears on the statement as a fee.

Signs MCC 5912 may be the wrong code

Customers’ HSA or FSA cards decline at checkout
Your statement shows a general retail code
Your pharmacy system and card processing were set up separately
Nobody has reviewed your account since it was opened

See the full merchant category code list, run your numbers with the fee calculator, or read why setup matters more than the rate you were quoted.

Common questions

What is MCC 5912?

It is the merchant category code for drug stores and pharmacies.

Why do HSA and FSA cards work at pharmacies?

Health spending cards are commonly set up to work at pharmacy and healthcare codes, among other checks. A pharmacy with the wrong code can see them decline.

What is the difference between 5912 and 5122?

5912 is retail pharmacies. 5122 is wholesale drug distribution.

Does MCC 5912 count for credit card rewards?

Some cards offer bonus rewards at drug stores; each issuer sets its own rules.

Can the wrong code cost a business money?

Yes. The code decides which interchange programs a sale can qualify for, so a wrong one can cost money on every sale without ever appearing as a fee.

Send us a statement. We will check your code, and everything else.

Our first audit is free and takes about five minutes of your time. We check whether your account is coded and set up correctly, and if there is nothing to find, you will know that too.

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About this page: merchant category codes are defined by the ISO 18245 standard and published by the card networks, which occasionally add, retire or rename codes and do not always use identical names. Code names here follow Visa and Mastercard published lists, checked October 2026. Whether a code is right for a particular business depends on what it actually sells; your processor and the card networks make the final assignment.