In brief
- Visa is moving to close a loophole in Crossmint-powered checkouts that let meme coin purchases made with credit cards be processed under a merchant code meant for digital media.
- The move follows a challenge from Chase, which said one Visa transaction was misclassified and shouldn’t have earned rewards; the New York AG’s office is also reviewing the matter.
- Meme coin purchases will continue but must be coded as crypto transactions, subject to Visa’s rules; processors have a grace period expected to end next week.
Banks came away empty-handed in their bid for tighter restrictions on stablecoin rewards after the Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate this week. But JP Morgan has scored a narrower victory in a separate fight over credit card rewards on crypto purchases, Crypto In America has learned.
Visa is moving to close an apparent loophole in checkouts powered by Crossmint, a crypto payments infrastructure firm, according to a source familiar with the matter. The workaround allowed meme coin purchases made with Visa credit cards to be processed under a merchant code intended for ordinary digital media.
The move comes after The Block published an investigation finding that users of the Robinhood Wallet and Fomo apps could purchase meme coins with credit cards through Apple Pay or Google Pay without completing a separate KYC process. The Block’s test purchases, powered by Crossmint and made with both Visa and Mastercard credit cards, were coded as “digital goods media,” a category typically used for e-books, movies and music, rather than as crypto transactions. That allowed customers to earn ordinary credit card rewards such as points or cash back on the meme coin purchases.
Chase told The Block that one Visa transaction had not been flagged as a cryptocurrency purchase, had been assigned the wrong merchant category code and should not have earned rewards. The bank subsequently opened a case with Visa challenging the classification. The New York attorney general’s office also told The Block it was aware of and reviewing the matter.
Crossmint defended its approach by pointing to a 2025 SEC staff statement that described certain meme coins as akin to collectibles rather than securities.
When it comes to payment processing, Visa clearly doesn’t agree.
BitcoinBTC · USD
$81,066+4.92%
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$81.8k$79.7k$77.6k$75.5k
24h HighHigh$81,817
24h LowLow$80,155
VolVol$918.7M
In correspondence reviewed by Crypto In America, the payment giant told at least one industry participant that the merchant code used for digital goods media is not appropriate for meme coin purchases.
Visa has also informed payment processors, including Checkout.com, that the code will no longer be accepted for those transactions, the source said. The processors have been given a grace period to wind down the practice, which is expected to end next week.
Visa and Crossmint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meme coin purchases aren’t going away. But the credit card rewards probably are. Going forward, the purchases must be processed as crypto transactions and will be subject to Visa’s corresponding rules and restrictions.
“The message to the crypto industry is clear: Stop being cute, stay in your lane and use the appropriate codes,” the source said.
Crypto in America is a newsletter written by Eleanor Terrett. Follow the link to read in full and subscribe.
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