Visa Closes Meme Coin Credit Card Rewards Loophole via Crossmint Checkouts

Visa is closing a merchant-code loophole that let customers earn ordinary credit card rewards on meme coin purchases, a source familiar with the matter said. Payment processors including Checkout.com were told the digital goods media code is no longer acceptable for such transactions, with a grace period ending next week. The workaround, powered by Crossmint, coded meme coin buys as "digital goods media" — a category for e-books, movies and music — rather than crypto transactions. A Block investigation found Robinhood Wallet and Fomo users could buy meme coins via Apple Pay or Google Pay without separate KYC, earning points or cash back. Chase said one Visa transaction was misclassified and should not have earned rewards, then opened a case with Visa. The New York attorney general's office said it is reviewing the matter. Crossmint cited a 2025 SEC staff statement likening certain meme coins to collectibles. Visa and Crossmint did not respond to comment requests. Going forward, purchases must process as crypto transactions under Visa's rules.