Consumer complaint received 2026-01-30 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: DC

Complaint narrative:
My Chase XXXX credit card statement of XXXX XXXX contained an unfamiliar charge for {$250.00} to IC KIOSK XXXX XXXX XXXX. I immediately reported it to Chase as fraud ; they canceled the card and issued a new one, providing a credit while they conducted an investigation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice that the charge was found to be legitimate and restored to my account. I called Chase and was told that the purchase was made in-person, meaning the card was present when used in XXXX XXXX XXXX and that, since I had not reported the card as lost or stolen, the charge was upheld. I informed Chase that Ive never once been to XXXX XXXX in my entire life. I had taken a trip to XXXX, XXXX  from XXXX XXXX XXXX but returned home to XXXX on the XXXX. [ XXXX is almost XXXX miles from XXXX. ] The weekend before I was in XXXX, so I was in a number of airports in a short amount of time ( XXXX, XXXX, XXXX connections in XXXX, and XXXX ). After this call, Chase agreed to review the case a second time. 

During the call, Chase was unable to tell me anything about the merchant XXXX XXXX, other than a telephone number ( XXXX ). My calls to this number have gone unanswered and unreturned ; even the companys voicemail message doesnt identify the name. I finally found the name, XXXX, based in XXXX XXXX ( the address is a luxury high-rise apartment ) ; its website is XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. The company was created in XXXX of XXXX by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, a XXXX company that provides conferences for XXXX developers. 

The XXXX website identifies it as A DeFI-based payment protocol for all the merchants and users to simplify XXXX payments via Buy Now Pay Later mechanism. [ Decentralized Finance, DeFI, is XXXX based on an algorithm on a blockchain, without a financial services company. Buy Now, Pay Later ( BNPL ) is short-term, typically interest-free financing allowing consumers to split purchases into smaller, equal installments. ] Much of the XXXX website is non-functional, although the site does offer a video : An in-person retail customer enters his phone number and purchase amount into the XXXX card reader, then inserts/taps/swipes his credit card. XXXX approves the transaction with minimal credit check and issues store credits to be used specifically at that retail location. 

When I asked Chase about the possibility that the card had been shimmedairports are a common venue for shimming -- I was told it was impossible to use a copied card because Chase has a built-in protocol to identify a fake card used in a card reader. Curiously, the first rep with whom I spoke told me the purchase was made by inserting the card in the reader, but in XXXX later calls I was told the card had been used with the Tap feature. 

Ive since learned that XXXX operates on a closed-loop system, not connected to a traditional financial institution. The system relies on XXXX XXXX, investors who provide crypto assets to liquidity pools and who in turn benefit from the rewards earned. As of XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Chase cardholders could no longer use Chase Bank cards to pay for third-party BNPL installment XXXX. Presumably, if Chase Bank was connected to the card reader, all XXXX transactions after XX/XX/XXXX would be declined. Since the transaction on XX/XX/XXXX was successful, it must be assumed that Chase wasnt part of the XXXX closed-loop system. And if Chase isnt part of this system, then a fake card wouldnt raise any alarms, since it wouldnt contain the security protocols Chase insists are present. XXXX is exclusively a BNPL mechanism, so any counterfeit card couldnt be flagged by Chase. 

In each call I explained that I had been having health challenges and was at home in DC on XX/XX/XXXX because I had been to the XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, followed by a doctors appt. and specialized bloodwork on the XXXX, also in XXXX. I pointed out that I always pay my ( hefty ) credit card balances in full every month, and that I have an XXXX  credit rating of XXXX. I offered to execute an affidavit stating that I was home in XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, but in spite of everything, the fraud claim was denied a third time.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation