Visa to end Crossmint memecoin rewards loophole

  • Visa told processors to reclassify Crossmint memecoin purchases as cryptocurrency transactions.
  • Checkout.com received a grace period expected to close during the week of September 21.
  • Chase challenged a Visa purchase coded as digital media that earned rewards.

Visa is moving to close a Crossmint-powered checkout arrangement that allowed memecoin purchases with credit cards to be coded as digital media rather than cryptocurrency transactions, enabling ordinary points and cash-back rewards. The network told payment processors, including Checkout.com, that merchant category code 5815 is not appropriate for meme-inspired token purchases through Crossmint integrations used by Robinhood Wallet and Fomo. Chase challenged a misclassified Visa transaction after finding it should not have earned rewards, while the New York Attorney General's office said it was reviewing the product. Reclassification does not prohibit card-funded purchases, but it removes the rewards treatment and lets issuers apply their crypto and cash-like transaction policies. Mastercard has not disclosed whether it will take a similar step.

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