How small merchants get a code
Processors such as Square, Toast, Clover and Stripe assign a merchant code based on the business type the owner selects.
Restaurant-specific systems such as Toast usually set a restaurant code. General systems depend on what the owner picked.
A café that registered as a general retail business codes as retail, and dining bonuses do not apply.
Food trucks, markets and pop-ups
Food trucks and market stalls often set up quickly, and their codes are less predictable.
A single vendor can use different codes at different events if they use different processors.
Event venues that process all sales through one system code as the venue.
PayPal and digital wallets
Paying through PayPal can pass the merchant's code to your issuer, or PayPal's own code, depending on how the payment is processed.
Statement descriptions beginning with a processor name are a sign the code may not be the store's own.
If a regular merchant keeps coding wrong, a flat-rate card is the safer choice there.
