Rejoice: Instarem Amaze Adds Merchant Category Code to Each Transaction

An Instarem Amaze article in 2023 that isn’t about a nerf? Indeed it is, and in fact this is considered a buff of sorts. Users who update to the latest version of the Instarem app would notice that each transaction now displays the Merchant Category Code (MCC) of each transaction. Thanks to Sole Guy and Xris for sharing!

For the uninitiated, knowing the MCCs of transactions is important because many credit cards give their high earn rates on eligible MCCs, or exclude certain MCCs from rewards. Maybank Family and Friends only gives its 8% cashback for dining transactions coded MCC 5812, while Citi SMRT excludes travel-related MCCs as found in its terms and conditions.

A great way to check MCCs

This new feature of Instarem Amaze has made it considerably more convenient for credit card users to find out the MCC of transactions, and might just be one of the best ways we now have.

Apps like Minstant and heymax use a repository of MCCs provided by Visa or Mastercard, but the list of merchants is not exhaustive. More obscure transactions, particularly online ones, may not be easily found in these apps.

Moreover, MCCs can change even with different branches of the same business. Having a particular eatery coded as 5814 (Fast Food) while another of the same chain being 5812 (Restaurants) is annoyingly common. Some have even reported that Lazada’s MCC changes depending on the items you place in your Lazada shopping card.

Using Amaze to check the MCC of the transaction is hence perhaps the most accurate way of ensuring that you get the rewards of your credit card.

Steps

To use Amaze as a tool to check the MCC of a particular transaction, you would want your first transaction to fail first so you can check the app for the MCC before selecting the right card to perform the transaction.

In order to make the transaction fail, you can do one of the following:

1. Lock your Instarem card
2. Lock the credit card set as the linked card in Instarem app
3. Switch your Instarem payment method to Amaze Wallet with S$0 balance

Once you are sure that the transaction will not pass through successfully, you can then charge the transaction to your Amaze card. Thereafter, tap the transaction within the app to see its MCC.

Once you know that Apple is indeed 5732, you can use a card that is good for electronics for this transaction.

Past transactions display MCCs too

This feature is retroactively applied to past transactions. You can now go to your past transactions displayed in the app to check their MCCs too, so there might not be a need for you to go through the whole process above.

A timely feature

This feature comes at a very opportune time; the DBS blocked card method was recently changed such that only unbilled transactions show the MCC. In any case, even at its best the DBS method was cumbersome – you had to navigate DBS’s chatbot to get to the info you want, then crosscheck the description against a list of MCCs.

This Amaze method is a lot more straightforward and it is much easier and quicker to see the MCC with the Instarem app with fewer steps involved. Instarem Amaze was already a very useful tool for rewards chasers, and this change makes it an even more indispensable tool despite its repeated nerfs.

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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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