Level I, Level II, Level III Data
Some of the buzzwords in the merchant account business seems to be Level I, Level
II, and Level III data. Even though this information has been around for quite
some time, April is the big month for card association changes. And some of
the changes affected the regulations on how this data is processed. But exactly
what is this data?
Level I Data
Level I data includes:
- Date
- Merchant Name
- City
- State
- ZIP Code
which is not prompted by the terminal. The merchant will need to enter the
purchase amount which also includes sales tax.
Level II Data
Level II Data includes:
- Date
- Merchant Name
- Tax ID
- Merchant Type Code
- Merchant Category Code (MCC)
- City
- State
- ZIP Code
This information will automatically programmed into your terminal and you should
not need to enter it. The merchant will then need to enter:
- Purchase Amount Excluding Sales Tax
- Sales Tax
- Local Tax Indicator
- Customer Code (if using a purchasing Card)
Your terminal should prompt you to enter the above information for all Level II
transactions.
Level III Data
Level III Data includes:
- Date
- Merchant Name
- Tax ID
- Merchant Type Code
- Merchant Category Code (MCC)
- City
- State
- ZIP Code
This information will automatically programmed into your terminal and you should
not need to enter it. The merchant will then need to enter:
- Purchase Amount Excluding Sales Tax
- Sales Tax
- Local Tax Indicator
- Customer Code (if using a purchasing Card)
- Full Line Item Details
Your terminal should prompt you to enter the above information for all Level III
transactions.
Enhanced Data
With Level II and Level III data, some merchants can require even more specific
data depending on their category. Some examples are:
- Fleet
- Level II Data
- Vehicle or Driver ID Number (AKA Customer Code)
- Fuel Type
- Fuel Quantity
- Fuel Unit of Measure
- Fuel Unit Cost
- Fuel Tax Exemption Status
- Gross Fuel Price
- Level III Data
- Odometer Reading
- Service Type
- Net Fuel Price
- Non-Fuel Gross/Net Price
- Item Discount Amount
- Item Description
- Item Commodity Code
- Item Unit Cost
- Item Quantity
- Item Unit of Measure
- Item Total
- Airline Itineraries
- Level II Data
- Merchant Name / Original Ticker Number
- Passenger Name
- Departure Date
- Origination City / Airport Code
- Travel Agency Code / Name
- Detailed Data for up to four legs of Travel
- Carrier Code
- Services Class
- Stop-over Code
- Destination City / Airport Code
- Level III Data
- Restricted Ticket Indicator
- Total Fare / Tax / Fee Amount
- Currency Code
- Exchange ticket number and amount
- Internet Indicator
- Electronic Ticket Indicator
- Conjunction Ticker Number
- Ticket Issue Date
- Fare Basis Code
- Control ID detailed information for up to 198 legs of travel
- Hotel Folios
- Level II Data
- Check-In Date
- Hotel Folio Number
- Number of Room nights
- Level III Data
- Daily Room Rate
- Summary Tax Elements
- Telephone and FAX Charges
- Gift Shop Purchases
- Movies Charges
- Health Club Charges
- No Show Indicator
- Business Center Charges
- Laundry Charges
- Check In / Out Dates
- Food & Beverages & Mini Bar Charges
- Folio Number
- Parking & Valet Charges
- Cash Advances
- Non-Room Charges
- Purchasing
- Level III Summary Data
- Ship to / from ZIP Code
- Destination Country Code
- VAT invoice Reference Number
- VAT tax amount / rate
- Discount Amount
- Freight / Shipping Amount
- Duty Amount
- Order Date
- Level III Line Item Detail
- Item Description
- Item Quantity
- Item Unit of Measure
- Item Total
- Item Commodity Code
- Item Product Code
- Item Unit Cost
- Item VAT Tax Amount / Rate
- Car Rentals
- Level II Data
- Days Rented
- Car Rental Agreement Number
- Renter Name
- Check-Out Date
- Level III Data
- Daily/Weekly Rental Rate
- Check Out/In Date
- Location/City of Car Return
- One-way/Drop-off Charges
- Late Return Charges / Hourly Rate
- Insurance Charges
- Fuel Charges
- Regular and Extra Mileage Charges
- Total Tax/VAT
- Telephone Charges
- Car Class Code
- No Show Indicator
- Extra/Other Charges
- Shipping and Overnight Courier Services Data
- Level III Data
- Tracking Number
- Pick up Date
- Origin/Destination Country Code
- Number of Packages
- Origin/Destination Name and Address
- Item Service Description
- Item Unit of Measure
- Item Weight
- Item Discount Amount
- Item Net / Tax Amount
- Temporary Help Services Data
- Level III Data
- Employee/Temporary Name
- Social Security Number
- Description
- Cost Center
- Week Start / End Date
- Rate Indicator
This data might be be passed back to the consumer if the merchant has not made
the investment of such terminals. Merchants are only likely to pass this
data if their is a demand for it. Merchants who have made the necessary
changes to their systems will be capable of passing this enhanced data through
their card systems.




Comments
What about commodity codes on L3 P Card?
What about addressing Interchange qualification related to purchase card...the different cats, the different fields required to hit each of those cats, the special registration with Visa on some of those cats.
What about non card-present invoice numbers, without which, the transactions will never qualify for L2 or L3 as all extended data products must qualify first and formost for CNP.
This is a big bag of worms that needs adequate documentation.
Corey,
I found your posting on the definition of level 1, 2 and 3 data to be very interesting. I am investigating a new business venture where capturing line item information (level 3 info) from fast food chains and restaurants would be vital to the projects success.
We have been thinking about issuing interested consumers prepaid debit/credit cards they can refill online and use for purchases at restaurants. I am curious as to your feedback on how we can obtain this level 3 data on what specifically they ordered and report it back to them through a website.
Any suggestions?