Crypto ramp providers

Crypto ramp providers facilitate the conversion from fiat currencies (e.g. USD) to non-fiat currencies (e.g. cryptocurrency), or vice versa. Card networks require ramp provider merchants to include special indicators in their authorization requests to identify the type of ramp transaction. Merchants who have contracted third-party conversion affiliates for conversion services must also submit relevant affiliate data in their authorization request.

From October 2024, Visa introduced a new mandate to include special transaction indicators to increase transparency and clarify dispute rules for digital currency and NFT transactions. Those new indicators apply to all forms of non-fiat digital currencies and identify whether the purchase is for:

• CBDC or tokenized deposit
• Stablecoin (fiat-backed)
• Blockchain native token or coin
• Cryptocurrency
• NFT

{
  (...)
  "instruction": {
      "fundsTransfer": {
          "type": "purchase",
          "purpose": "stablecoin"
      }
  }
  (...)
}

Relevant "purpose" values:

• blockchainNativeToken
• crypto
• stablecoin
• nft
• cbdc

Card networks mandate that crypto ramp merchants submit their unique identifier in every authorization. You can send this in the merchant object:

{
    "merchant": {
        "rampProvider": {
            "reference": "12345677898"
        }
    }
}

Conversion affiliates are third-party entities contracted by a ramp provider to assist in the conversion services between fiat and non-fiat currencies. Conversion affiliates of ramp providers include but are not limited to retailers, cryptocurrency exchanges, and NFT marketplaces.

If the ramp provider uses conversion affiliates, they are obliged to submit the affiliate data inside the merchant.rampProvider object:

{
    "merchant": {
        "rampProvider": {
            "reference": "12345677898",
            "conversionAffiliate": {
                "reference": "1234567890",
                "name": "Name",
                "url": "http://some-url-here.com",
                "taxReference": "987-654-4321",
                "address": {
                    "countryCode": "US"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}