Level 2/Level 3 Data
Enhanced transaction data that qualifies B2B payments for lower interchange rates.
What is Level 2/Level 3 Data?
Level 2 and Level 3 (L2/L3) data are enhanced transaction details required to qualify for lower interchange rates on commercial and purchasing cards. Level 2 includes basic commercial data: customer code, tax amount, and merchant postal code. Level 3 adds line-item detail: item descriptions, quantities, unit costs, and product codes. By submitting this data, merchants can reduce interchange on B2B transactions by 0.5-1.0% or more.
Why It Matters
If you accept corporate, purchasing, or government cards, L2/L3 processing can significantly reduce costs. These cards typically have higher base interchange rates, but L2/L3 qualification brings them down. The savings can be substantial for B2B merchants—potentially thousands of dollars monthly on high-volume accounts.
Related Terms
Interchange Fee
The fee paid by the merchant's bank to the cardholder's bank on every card transaction.
Interchange Optimization
Strategies and technologies to qualify transactions for the lowest possible interchange rates.
Interchange-Plus Pricing
A transparent pricing model showing actual interchange costs plus a fixed processor markup.
Payment Processor
A company that handles credit card and debit card transactions between merchants and banks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily B2B merchants, wholesalers, government vendors, and anyone accepting significant volume of commercial/purchasing cards. Retail consumer transactions don't benefit.
Not all processors or gateways support L2/L3 automatically. You may need specific integrations or to manually submit enhanced data. Ask your processor about capabilities.
Typically 0.5-1.0% per transaction on qualifying cards. For a business processing $100K monthly in B2B payments, that's $500-$1,000 monthly savings.
Simplify your payment operations
Anchorbase connects payments directly to your ERP with automated reconciliation. Zero platform fees.