Visa moves to end Crossmint memecoin credit-card rewards loophole
The payment network is reportedly telling processors to stop using a digital-media merchant code for memecoin purchases, which let some buyers earn ordinary points or cash back.
By The Third AnglePublished 5 min read
Visa is reportedly asking payment processors to recategorize memecoin purchases as crypto transactions. Photo: CardMapr.nl / Unsplash · Unsplash License
A card-code classification is changing
Visa is moving to restrict payment processors from classifying certain memecoin purchases as digital-media transactions, according to The Block’s report published Saturday. The change would close a payment-code loophole that allowed some buyers to use credit cards for memecoin purchases while earning ordinary card points or cash back.
The transactions were reportedly assigned merchant category code 5815, a category commonly associated with digital media such as streaming content, ebooks or movies. Crypto purchases usually face different card-network rules and often do not qualify for the same rewards. The issue is payment classification, not a new kind of token or a change to memecoin settlement on-chain.
Visa has not publicly confirmed the details in the reports. The Block said the information came from a Friday report by the Crypto in America newsletter and followed its own investigation into Crossmint, Checkout.com, Fomo and Robinhood Wallet.
Crossmint’s checkout remains available for now
Crossmint provides checkout infrastructure that lets users buy supported onchain assets through familiar payment methods. The Block reported that the memecoin checkout remained available on Fomo and Robinhood Wallet at publication time, while Visa’s grace period for processors was expected to end the following week.
That timing creates a narrow window in which the user experience may look unchanged even as processors prepare to recategorize transactions. Once the grace period ends, the purchases would be handled as ordinary cryptocurrency transactions under Visa’s restrictions, which could affect rewards eligibility, authorization rules or whether a card issuer approves the charge at all.
Crossmint said in an earlier statement that it treats payment-network compliance seriously and updates procedures when guidance changes. The company also said its onchain commerce infrastructure supports different asset types with distinct product and compliance requirements. That statement predates the latest reported Visa instruction.
Why the distinction matters
Rewards can change how a purchase feels to a customer. Points and cash back reduce the visible cost of a speculative transaction, even though they do not reduce the token’s volatility or make the asset safer. A card-network code can therefore influence demand at the checkout without changing the underlying market.
The episode also shows how crypto products can sit between several rulebooks. Crossmint’s terms, a processor’s risk policy, card-network merchant codes and securities or consumer-finance guidance may all matter at once. A token’s label as a collectible or memecoin does not automatically determine how a payment network should classify the purchase.
The next evidence is a direct Visa notice, an updated Crossmint checkout policy or a visible change in how the apps authorize these payments. Card rewards do not cancel token risk. Readers should not treat a points-earning route as an endorsement of any memecoin or as a reason to use credit to buy volatile assets.
