Categories

Triqai uses a comprehensive, hierarchical category system to classify transactions. This taxonomy is designed to be consistent, intuitive, and compatible with industry standards.

Category Structure

Categories are organized in three levels: Primary → Secondary → Tertiary For example:

Primary: Parking
Secondary: Vehicle Services
Tertiary: Transportation

Not every transaction will have all three levels. Triqai assigns the most specific applicable category while ensuring accuracy.

Category Response

Each enriched transaction includes a category structure with a confidence object containing both a numeric value and explanatory reasons:

{
  "category": {
    "primary": {
      "name": "Shopping",
      "code": {
        "mcc": 5411,
        "sic": 5411,
        "naics": 445110
      }
    },
    "secondary": {
      "name": "Online Shopping",
      "code": {
        "mcc": 5411,
        "sic": 5411,
        "naics": 445110
      }
    },
    "tertiary": {
      "name": "Marketplace",
      "code": {
        "mcc": 5411,
        "sic": 5411,
        "naics": 445110
      }
    },
    "confidence": { "value": 95, "reasons": ["merchant_category_match"] }
  }
}

Category Confidence Reasons

The reasons array on category confidence uses these tags:

Tag	Meaning
`merchant_category_match`	The identified merchant has a known/linked category mapping
`fallback_classification`	Category came from fallback logic rather than strong merchant evidence
`p2p_transfer_detected`	Transaction detected as P2P transfer by deterministic rules

Industry Codes

Each category includes standardized industry codes:

Code	Name	Description
MCC	Merchant Category Code	4-digit code used by payment networks
SIC	Standard Industrial Classification	Legacy classification system
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System	Modern industry classification

These codes enable integration with accounting systems, compliance tools, and analytics platforms that expect standardized industry identifiers.

Expense Categories

Triqai supports 68 expense categories across these primary groups:

Shopping

General Merchandise
Online Shopping
Clothing & Apparel
Electronics
Home & Garden
Department Stores
Marketplace

Food & Dining

Restaurants
Fast Food
Coffee Shops
Bars & Nightlife
Groceries
Food Delivery

Transportation

Gas Stations
Parking
Public Transit
Ride Sharing
Tolls
Car Rental
Airlines

Entertainment

Streaming Services
Movies & Theater
Music
Gaming
Sports & Recreation
Events & Tickets

Bills & Utilities

Electricity
Gas
Water
Internet
Phone
Cable TV
Insurance

Health & Wellness

Healthcare
Pharmacy
Fitness & Gym
Personal Care
Medical Services

Financial

Bank Fees
Interest
Investments
Taxes
Insurance Premiums
Loan Payments

Travel

Hotels & Lodging
Airlines
Car Rental
Travel Agencies
Vacation Rentals

Services

Professional Services
Software
Education
Legal Services

Income Categories

Triqai supports 38 income categories including:

Salary & Wages: Regular employment income
Freelance: Contract and gig work payments
Refunds: Returns and reimbursements
Interest: Bank interest, dividends
Transfers: P2P and account transfers
Government: Benefits, tax refunds
Rental Income: Property rental payments
Investments: Capital gains, dividends

Category Confidence

Each category assignment includes a confidence object with a value (0-100) and reasons:

Range	Interpretation
90-100	Very high confidence, reliable for automated decisions
70-89	High confidence, suitable for most use cases
50-69	Moderate confidence, may benefit from manual review
0-49	Low confidence, recommend manual verification

Fetching All Categories

You can retrieve the complete category taxonomy via the API:

import Triqai from "triqai";

const triqai = new Triqai(process.env.TRIQAI_API_KEY!);

const { categories, total, categoryVersion } = await triqai.categories.list();

for (const cat of categories) {
  console.log(`${cat.name} (level ${cat.level}, type: ${cat.type})`);
}

curl https://api.triqai.com/v1/categories \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

The response includes all categories with their hierarchy, descriptions, and industry codes.

Category Versioning

Triqai’s category taxonomy is versioned. The current version is returned in the meta.categoryVersion field:

{
  "meta": {
    "categoryVersion": "triqai-2026.01"
  }
}

When the taxonomy is updated, the version changes. This allows you to detect and adapt to changes in the category structure.

Best Practices

Use primary categories for high-level grouping and secondary/tertiary for detailed analysis. This provides flexibility for different reporting needs.

Industry codes are mapped per category, not per merchant. If you need merchant-specific MCC codes, use the payment processor’s original data.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Platform

Category Structure

Category Response

Category Confidence Reasons

Industry Codes

Expense Categories

Income Categories

Category Confidence

Fetching All Categories

Category Versioning

Best Practices

Next Steps

Entities

List Categories API

​Category Structure

​Category Response

​Category Confidence Reasons

​Industry Codes

​Expense Categories

​Income Categories

​Category Confidence

​Fetching All Categories

​Category Versioning

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Entities

List Categories API

Category Structure

Category Response

Category Confidence Reasons

Industry Codes

Expense Categories

Income Categories

Category Confidence

Fetching All Categories

Category Versioning

Best Practices

Next Steps