Visa is reportedly moving to close a payment classification loophole that let crypto payment processors treat memecoin purchases as “digital media,” allowing cardholders to earn ordinary credit card rewards or cash back instead of being subject to cryptocurrency transaction rules.
The development follows The Block’s September 1 investigation into Crossmint, which powers memecoin checkouts for apps including Robinhood Wallet and Fomo. Test purchases of the WIF memecoin using Visa and Mastercard credit cards through Apple Pay and Google Pay were assigned merchant category code 5815, normally used for digital content such as streaming movies and audiobooks. The tested cards treated the payments as ordinary purchases and awarded normal rewards.
According to a September 19 report from Crypto in America, Visa has told at least one industry participant and processors including Checkout.com that MCC 5815 should not be used for memecoin purchases. A grace period is expected to end during the week beginning September 21, after which memecoin transactions would need to be processed under Visa’s cryptocurrency merchant category codes 6012 or 6051 with crypto indicators.
The shift may remove rewards, trigger issuer-specific fees or lead to declined transactions depending on the card issuer. Chase previously reviewed a test transaction, said the digital media category was inappropriate, and referred the matter to Visa. The New York Attorney General’s office also said it was aware of Crossmint’s product and was looking into it.
Crossmint has maintained it remains in good standing with Visa, Mastercard and other card-network partners, and that its procedures have not changed. It argues that eligible memecoins are reviewed individually and resemble collectibles, referencing a 2026 SEC interpretation that cites dogwifhat as an example of a memecoin collectible. However, payment experts say SEC securities guidance does not determine card-network classification rules.
Crossmint said more than 68,000 first-time crypto buyers had used its Apple Pay checkout through Fomo as of April, and the integration contributed to a sevenfold increase in Fomo’s weekly active traders. The checkout remained available on Robinhood Wallet and Fomo when The Block checked on September 19. Tokens GENIUS and DEGEN were made unavailable to buy through Crossmint’s Apple Pay checkout after The Block asked about their classification.
Mastercard has not publicly disclosed whether it has issued similar instructions to payment processors.
