Meme coin credit card buys lose digital media coding under Visa deadline this week

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Visa has told payment processors to discontinue coding meme coin credit card transactions as digital media.

That loophole allowed those purchases to earn card rewards, and a grace period to wind it down is expected to end this week.

Crossmint checkouts ran token purchases under code 5815

The workaround was tucked inside checkouts from Crossmint, a crypto payments company. Its tech powers card-based token buying on Fomo and Robinhood Wallet apps.

An investigation by The Block found customers could use Apple Pay or Google Pay to buy tokens with Visa and Mastercard credit cards. No separate check of identity.

The charges were classified under merchant category code 5815, which is meant for digital goods such as e-books, streaming movies, and music. The transactions were never marked as crypto, so they drew regular points and cash back.

Earlier this month, Cryptopolitan reported that Visa’s own rules call for codes 6012 or 6051 plus a quasi-cash signal for crypto purchases. Chase’s rewards terms treat crypto transactions like cash, with no points.

Chase contested one charge as New York’s attorney general reviewed the matter

Chase said one Visa charge was miscoded, never flagged as a cryptocurrency purchase, and should not have triggered rewards. The bank then opened a case with Visa disputing the classification.

A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office is aware of and reviewing the matter.

Visa told at least one industry participant in correspondence that meme coin buys don’t fit the digital-goods code. Processors, including Checkout.com, were told the code would no longer be accepted for those transactions, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Crossmint defended the coding, citing a February 27, 2025, staff statement from the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance. The statement referred to typical meme coins as “akin to collectibles” rather than securities offerings.

The 5815 classification was cleared with partners during onboarding, the company said. Vanderbilt Law School professor Yesha Yadav called SEC guidance and card-network rules two different regimes.

Crossmint said its processes for handling digital goods remain the same. After questions on how Crossmint categorized the GENIUS and DEGEN tokens, the tokens became unavailable through Apple Pay and Google Pay on both apps.

Meme coin buying is still happening on Fomo and Robinhood Wallet, with the Crossmint checkout still live as of Saturday. The rewards probably expire once purchases run as standard crypto transactions.

Cryptopolitan reported in May that Visa captures 90% of on-chain card payments.

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