Visa Moves to End Card Rewards on Memecoin Purchases
Memecoin buys coded as digital media earned ordinary card rewards. The Block reports Visa has told processors to stop. Merchant codes decide cashback.
For months, buying memecoins through some apps earned the same credit card rewards as buying a film or a song. The Block reports that Visa has told the companies involved to stop.
The purchases ran through Crossmint, which powers memecoin checkout in apps including Robinhood Wallet and one called Fomo. They were coded to merchant category code 5815, the code for digital media — streamed films, audiobooks and the like — and carried none of the flags that identify a crypto purchase. Card issuers therefore paid rewards on them as they would on any ordinary purchase.
Following The Block's investigation of 1 September, Visa told Crossmint and the payment processor Checkout.com that the treatment is no longer appropriate, according to reporting on 19 September. The companies were given a short grace period, after which the purchases are expected to be processed as ordinary crypto transactions, which are subject to Visa's restrictions and rarely earn rewards. Crossmint said its "position and procedures on how we process digital goods through our platform has not changed". Visa has not published a statement.
Why this matters if you use a crypto card
The story is a useful illustration of something that decides your cashback every month: the merchant category of a purchase, not the amount.
Card programmes we track already exclude crypto and wallet funding from rewards, by category code. The MEXC Global Card, for instance, excludes financial services, cash advances, money transfers, gambling, government payments, charity and direct sales from cashback — the crypto-purchase codes sit in that first group. Other issuers publish similar lists.
So a card advertising "up to 10% back" pays nothing on a category it excludes, and most issuers treat buying crypto as one of those categories. If you plan to put a large purchase on a card for the cashback, check the exclusions first: our guide to how cashback caps work covers the caps, and each card's page lists what its issuer excludes.
Sources: The Block, [Visa to close Crossmint memecoin rewards loophole](https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-19-visa-to-close-crossmint-memecoin-rewards-loophole-following-the-block-investigation-report-415866) (19 September 2026) and its original investigation of 1 September 2026; MEXC's published list of excluded merchant categories. Visa has published no statement of its own. Checked 23 September 2026.
Common questions
Why did buying memecoins earn credit card rewards at all?
The Block reported that the purchases were coded to merchant category code 5815, which is meant for digital media such as films and audiobooks, and carried none of the flags that mark a transaction as a crypto purchase. To the card issuer they looked like ordinary digital shopping, so they earned ordinary points or cashback.
Does this change affect cashback on crypto cards?
No. This is about earning rewards when you buy memecoins with a normal card. It does not change what a crypto card pays you for spending. It is a reminder that the merchant category decides whether a purchase earns anything — crypto and wallet top-ups are excluded on most cards already.
Has Visa published this policy?
Not publicly. The reporting is by The Block, which says Visa told Crossmint and the processor Checkout.com to stop using the digital-media code, with a short grace period. Visa has not issued a public statement, so treat the timing as reported rather than confirmed.
Cards mentioned in this article
Card figures referenced here come from each issuer's published terms and each card page shows when its data was last verified — see our methodology for how, and the changelog for what has changed since. Rewards and availability vary by region and move often. Not financial advice.