# Payments Region Checker (`sterlingverify/payments-region-checker`) Actor

Classify card payments by region: EU/EEA/eurozone/SEPA membership, UK vs EU SCA regime, domestic / intra-EEA / UK-EEA / inter-regional classification and interchange-cap notes. Input countries, ISO codes or BINs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sterlingverify/payments-region-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Luke Mangan](https://apify.com/sterlingverify) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.50 / 1,000 lookup dones

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Payments Region Checker

**Payments Region Checker** classifies card payments by region from countries, ISO codes or BINs: EU/EEA/eurozone/SEPA membership, the SCA regime that applies, the cross-border type and interchange-cap notes.

**Best for:** Payments product and pricing teams, integration and solutions engineers, and anyone explaining UK vs EU card rules after Brexit.

### How to check the region of a card payment

1. Add queries to **Queries**: a country (`Bulgaria`), a pair (`GB > IE`) or `{"card": "535522", "merchant": "DE"}`.
2. Click **Start**.
3. Read `transactionClassification`, `scaRegime` and `interchangeNote` for each query.

### How it works

All reference lists live in the code and are dated: EU-27, EEA (EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), euro area (21 members incl. Bulgaria from 1 Jan 2026), SEPA scheme countries (EPC list incl. UK, Switzerland, Crown Dependencies, Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia). BIN-to-country uses an open BIN list (CC BY 4.0). The tool assumes the issuer is in the card country and the acquirer is in the merchant country.

### Output

`input, cardCountry, merchantCountry, card, merchant, transactionClassification, scaRegime, interchangeNote`

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- `lookup-done`: **$0.0005** per result ($0.5 / 1,000). Platform usage is included; you pay only for results.
- Example: 10,000 lookups cost $5.00.

### Example input

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "Bulgaria",
    "GB > IE",
    "US / FR",
    {
      "card": "535522",
      "merchant": "DE"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Example output

Values below are illustrative.

```json
{
  "input": "GB > DE",
  "cardCountry": "GB",
  "merchantCountry": "DE",
  "card": {
    "eu": false,
    "eea": false,
    "eurozone": false,
    "sepa": true
  },
  "merchant": {
    "eu": true,
    "eea": true,
    "eurozone": true,
    "sepa": true
  },
  "transactionClassification": "UK-EEA cross-border (inter-regional since Brexit)",
  "scaRegime": "One-leg-out: SCA is 'best efforts' only",
  "interchangeNote": "UK-EEA CNP: no IFR cap since Brexit..."
}
```

### Use it via API, schedules and integrations

Run it in Apify Console, or call it from your own code with the Apify API or the Python and JavaScript clients. Save an input as a task and add a schedule to run it regularly, and send results to Slack, email, webhooks, Zapier, Make or n8n with Apify integrations. AI agents can find and run it through the Apify MCP server.

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/payments-region-checker").call(run_input={"queries": ["GB > IE", {"card": "535522", "merchant": "DE"}]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

### FAQ

#### How up to date are the country lists?

The lists are dated in the code and reflect October 2026, including Bulgaria joining the euro area on 1 Jan 2026. Check official sources for later changes.

#### Is this regulatory advice?

No. It is informational only, not legal or regulatory advice.

### Disclaimer

Sources: European Union (europa.eu), EFTA/EEA Agreement, European Central Bank, European Payments Council SEPA scheme countries list, EU PSD2 RTS (Reg. 2018/389), FCA UK SCA RTS, EU Interchange Fee Regulation (EU) 2015/751, UK Payment Systems Regulator. Lists as at October 2026; check them for recent changes. BIN data: binlist-data by Ian Nuttall, CC BY 4.0 (not an official register). Informational only, not legal or regulatory advice.

### Related sterlingVerify tools

Part of the sterlingVerify UK payments, KYB and data toolkit on Apify Store:

- [BIN Lookup](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/bin-lookup): bulk BIN lookup for scheme, type, issuer and country
- [IBAN Validator](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/iban-validator): offline bulk IBAN validation and parsing
- [MCC Checker](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/mcc-checker): check a merchant's MCC against its website or description
- [Payments Integration Spec Pack](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/integration-spec-pack): branded PDF payments integration spec with completeness report

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Each item: a country name/ISO code ("France", "DE"), a 6-8 digit BIN, a pair string "card > merchant" (e.g. "GB > DE", "424242 > FR"), or {"card":"...","merchant":"..."}. Never send full card numbers.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "France",
    "GB > DE",
    {
      "card": "424242",
      "merchant": "United Kingdom"
    }
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All results in the default dataset

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "France",
        "GB > DE",
        {
            "card": "424242",
            "merchant": "United Kingdom"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sterlingverify/payments-region-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "queries": [
        "France",
        "GB > DE",
        {
            "card": "424242",
            "merchant": "United Kingdom",
        },
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/payments-region-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "France",
    "GB > DE",
    {
      "card": "424242",
      "merchant": "United Kingdom"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call sterlingverify/payments-region-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sterlingverify/payments-region-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/pj2j9YV3yFvLLFgaZ/builds/iA8Py9YXzcWnbXybj/openapi.json