Level II/III Data
Optimize interchange costs and enhance transaction transparency with enriched Level 2 and Level 3 data.
Level 2 and Level 3 (L2/L3) fields allow merchants to pass more detailed information about a transaction to the card networks. By submitting additional fields like tax details, invoice number, product descriptions, and line-item breakdowns, the merchants can qualify for lower interchange fees on eligible business or corporate card transactions.
- L2 data focuses on summary-level information such as customer reference, tax amount, and purchase identifiers.
- L3 data adds granular detail such as the individual product lines, quantity, unit price, and shipping or duty charges.
These fields are primarily applicable to U.S. domestic Visa and Mastercard transactions. If enhanced data is incomplete or invalid, the transaction may still process but will not qualify for enhanced interchange.
A few Business examples are enlisted below:
- Corporate Purchase: A company buys 10 office monitors for $5,000. The merchant includes tax and line-item details to qualify for Level 3 rates.
- B2B Software Renewal: A SaaS vendor charges a corporate client $1,000 plus applicable tax and shipping, submitting invoice and tax details as Level 2 data.
- E-Commerce Order with Multiple Items: A merchant includes full product, discount, and freight details for a multi-item order to meet Level 3 requirements.
Eligibility and Key Considerations:
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Card Type | L2/L3 qualification typically applies to business, purchasing, or corporate cards. Consumer cards usually do not support it. |
| Merchant Category | Some MCCs (e.g., travel, lodging, rental services) may have restrictions on sending enhanced data. |
| Data Accuracy | The information shared (tax, item totals, etc.) must match the transaction amount. Discrepancies can cause rejection or downgrade. |
| Regulatory Compliance | Tax values and item details must align with card network thresholds and formatting rules. |
| Fallback Handling | If L3 data fails validation, the request may still qualify at L2 level, or revert to standard data processing. |
How it works
- Identify eligible transactions, usually commercial or purchasing cards.
- Collect required L2/L3 fields during checkout.
- Include these fields in your payment request under the POST
/checkout/v3/paymentAPI endpoint. - Processor forwards data to card networks for interchange qualification.
- Reduced interchange fees are applied automatically if all conditions are met.
Quick reference for L1, L2 and L3 data (Visa/MC)
| Field | Body Parameter | L1 | L2 | L3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Name | customerName | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Transaction Amount (Total) | amount | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Date | (Response field) If you need to pass your own date, include it in the memo field as JSON data. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tax Amount (0.1%–31%) | tax | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Tax Identification (0, 1, 2) | taxExempt | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Tax ID (Mastercard only) | Send via memo field (if available) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Customer Code (max 30 chars) | customerCode | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Merchant Postal Code | shipToZip | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Ship From Postal Code | sourceZip | ✓ | ||
| Destination Postal Code | shipToZip | ✓ | ||
| Destination Country Code | shipToCountry | ✓ | ||
| Invoice / Order Number | invoice | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Description | purchases[].description | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Product Code | purchases[].code | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Quantity | purchases[].quantity | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Unit of Measure | purchases[].unitOfMeasure | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Unit of Cost | purchases[].unitPrice | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Discount Amount | purchases[].discountAmount | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Discount Rate | purchases[].discountRate | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Tax Amount | purchases[].taxAmount | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Tax Rate | purchases[].taxRate | ✓ | ||
| Line Item – Line Item Total | purchases[].extendedAmount | ✓ | ||
| Freight Amount | vatAmount | ✓ | ||
| Duty Amount | dutyAmount | ✓ |
Key limitations & rules
- Tax for L2 pricing: send a non-zero tax value to qualify for the lowest L2 tiers (Visa/MC). Zero tax is allowed, but may not yield the best L2 rate unless you also pass L3.
- Reconciliation: All amounts must align to -
Σ(unitPrice × quantity) + Σ(taxAmount) − Σ(discountAmount) + shipAmount == amount- Tax identification flag: (
taxExempt) uses enum:0no tax info,1tax amount provided,2item exempt/non-taxable.
Validation Tips
- The sum of all line items, plus tax and freight, must equal the total transaction amount.
- Use valid ISO country and currency codes.
taxpresent and > 0 for lowest L2 tiers (Visa/MC)taxExemptvalues limited to0|1|2and consistent with item taxationshipToCountryis ISO alpha‑3 (e.g.,USA)- Line items roll up to
amountvia the reconciliation formula - Auth/Capture gap ≤ 2 days (where applicable)
Missing or invalid data may cause the transaction to be downgraded to a higher interchange rate.
See Also
- Retrieve Payment API
- Cancel Payment API
- Refund Payment API
- Payments lifecycle
Open / Pending items to be discussed
- Confirm MCCs required
- Confirm if there is a feature enablement needed or any other pre-requisite
- Links for Refund API tryout and Payments lifecycle
Updated 19 days ago