Nerfed: BOC Family Card Excludes CardUp, ipaymy, Education and Other MCCs From 1st January 2026
In a text message sent to cardholders, Bank of China has announced an upcoming nerf to BOC Family Card. Among other things, CardUp, ipaymy and education-related expenses will no longer earn any cashback once the new terms and conditions take effect from 1st January 2026.
CardUp and ipaymy specifically excluded
One of the major changes happening to the card would be that CardUp and ipaymy are specifically named as exclusions starting from 1st January 2026.
For quite a few years now, BOC Family has been offering 3% cashback for CardUp and ipaymy transactions as part of its online category. With fees typically ranging from 1.79% to 2.6%, the 3% cashback easily offset the cost of these payment services and still resulted in some rewards for users paying a variety of bills like income tax and mortgage.
This would no longer be possible with the BOC Family Card once the new terms and conditions kick in. Refer to the CardUp and ipaymy guide for alternatives.
Education-related expenses
Also newly added are a bunch of Merchant Category Codes (MCC) that relate to education:
| MCC | Description |
|---|---|
| 8211 | Elementary and Secondary Schools |
| 8220 | Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges |
| 8241 | Correspondence Schools |
| 8244 | Business and Secretarial Schools |
| 8249 | Trade Schools, Vocational Schools |
| 8299 | Schools and Educational Services (Not Elsewhere Classified) |
Top-ups, telcos, and other MCCs excluded as well
The new terms and conditions also make it more explicit that top-ups to things like SimplyGo and ShopeePay will be excluded from cash rebates. For the sake of clarity, SimplyGo payments for bus/MRT and online payments made for Shopee purchases will still get cashback as long as they are not top-ups.
While donations have been excluded, the new terms and conditions now exclude transactions relating to charitable, religious, political, and other organisations (8398, 8661, 8651, 8699). Professional services (8999) are also being excluded.
Even telco expenses are not spared, with 4814 also being excluded. While many cards give their rewards for telco purchases and bill payments under this MCC, Bank of China is curiously excluding this.
One more interesting MCC that’s being excluded is 7273. This makes sense, I guess, since Dating and Escort Services transactions are probably far from what one might consider to be family-friendly.
You can see the new set of terms and conditions here.
Subscribe for more deals and updates!
If you’re someone who wants to earn more from credit cards, savings accounts and other financial deals, stay subscribed to the Telegram or WhatsApp so you can be notified of news and deals. Remember to unmute and turn on notifications or the updates may not reach you.
H/T: Thanks to Max and Z for sharing
Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.
He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.
Subscribe to the channel for free updates!
Disclaimer: I may receive an affiliate/referral fee when you sign up for services/products on this site, and such fees keep the site running. I would only recommend services/products I would personally use or recommend to my own friends and family, but I do not provide any warranty or guarantee for the quality of these services/products. Thank you for supporting my site!
Please exercise due diligence when signing up for any service/product as I will not be liable for any personal loss, financial or otherwise. Content published here are my sole views and personal opinion, and none of the information here constitutes personal financial advice nor represents the views of my employer(s).