Mastercard upgrades virtual card platform with Citi as first global issuer

Visa, the major international payments network, is moving to correct a practice that treats credit card purchases of meme coins as 'digital content,' the same as e-books and music, Crypto In America reported on September 19. According to the report, Visa has told payment processors that it will not allow the use of 'MCC 5815' for meme coin purchases. MCC is a four-digit classification code indicating what type of business a card payment is made to, and Visa's official manual stipulates that cryptocurrency purchases should in principle use MCC 6012 or 6051, along with information indicating a cryptocurrency transaction. MCC 5815, meanwhile, is the category for e-books, movies, music, and digital art. The specific end date has not been made clear, but the grace period is expected to end in the week from September 21 to 27. Behind this is the problem that when some apps purchased meme coins, the transactions were processed not as cryptocurrency but as 'digital media,' granting users the same points and cashback as ordinary purchases. Crossmint, which was processing the payments, is said to have based its position on the view of SEC Division of Corporation Finance staff that some meme coins are closer to collectibles than securities, but Visa judged that card payments must be treated as cryptocurrency and that the use of MCC 5815 is inappropriate. This move does not itself ban card purchases of meme coins, but because they will now be processed as cryptocurrency transactions, it may become harder to earn the same points and cashback as ordinary purchases.