Visa is tightening a credit card classification practice tied to memecoin purchases. According to a Sept. 1 investigation by The Block, some memecoin transactions had been placed in the “digital media” category, allowing cardholders to earn points or cash back in the same way they would on streaming subscriptions.
That arrangement is now being unwound. Visa has directly told payment processor Checkout.com to end the practice, and the grace period is expected to expire next week. After that, the transactions will be processed as cryptocurrency purchases, not digital media spending, which means the card rewards attached to that category will no longer apply.
How the classification worked
Visa’s merchant category code, or MCC, system is core infrastructure for the card industry. Each type of purchase is assigned a code. Streaming video, audiobooks, and other digital media purchases fall under MCC 5815, a category that often qualifies for elevated points or cash-back rates.
Payments infrastructure company Crossmint had classified some credit card crypto purchases under MCC 5815. That let users on apps such as Fomo and Robinhood Wallet accumulate card rewards when buying memecoins with a credit card.
The Block reported that Chase said the setup was inappropriate and referred the matter to Visa.
Crossmint’s explanation and the regulatory angle
Crossmint head of strategy Fonz Olvera said the logic was tied to guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He said some memecoins could be treated as collectibles under securities law, which in his view made the digital media classification defensible.
The Block’s reporting in early September also said memecoin purchase transactions lacked a special marker for crypto assets. One example involved GENIUS, the native token of Genius Terminal. The token belongs to a non-custodial trading platform and has no origin in internet memes or cultural trends, yet it was still labeled a memecoin in the reporting.
At the time, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James told The Block it was aware of Crossmint’s product and was investigating.
Olvera said in an interview, 「Compliance matters especially because we are now a regulated financial institution, but there will always be healthy tension between companies and regulation.」
Visa has told Checkout.com to use the crypto category
According to the subscription newsletter Crypto in America, which reported the development on Friday, Visa directly instructed Checkout.com to move the transactions to the correct cryptocurrency classification.
Crossmint transactions on Fomo and Robinhood Wallet are still operating for now. Once the grace period ends next week, those purchases will be handled as crypto transactions. For users, that means buying memecoins with a credit card will no longer qualify for the cash-back and points benefits tied to the digital media category.
The change may be small in direct economic terms for holders, but the reporting frames it as another sign that crypto payments are being pushed toward more standardized treatment.
No similar public move from Mastercard yet
Visa’s rival Mastercard has not publicly disclosed whether it has issued a similar instruction.
The report notes that Mastercard recently acquired crypto infrastructure company BVNK for $1.8 billion, a move that points to a faster push into crypto payments. Whether Mastercard will also tighten classification rules has not been publicly stated.