Consumer complaint tracking referenced in coverage from Consumer Reports' financial services desk shows a rise in cardholder disputes related to Merchant Category Code assignment for online marketplace purchases in early 2026.
The disputes commonly center on purchases -- like groceries bought through a general online marketplace -- that cardholders expected to qualify for a specific bonus category, only to have the transaction post under a generic online retail code instead.
Coverage notes that some marketplaces have begun splitting specific verticals, like dedicated grocery delivery services, into distinct MCCs that can separately qualify for bonus categories, even as the parent marketplace's general purchases remain coded generically.
Our article on e-commerce purchases and MCC coding explains why this inconsistency exists and how to check whether a specific online purchase path qualifies before assuming a bonus applies.
Consumer advocates quoted in the coverage recommend cardholders review statements against expectations periodically, given that MCC coding for online purchases can shift as marketplaces restructure their payment processing relationships over time.