NRA slams credit card merchant code on gun shop purchases

• All purchases in firearms stores in the US will be categorized as gun sales by Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
• The new merchant code was approved by the ISO on Friday.
• Gun control activists said the move will help save lives, but the NRA said it will only create a targeted registry of gun owners.

Payment giants Visa, MasterCard, and American Express have agreed to use a new merchant code that categorizes purchases in gun stores in the US. The move has been celebrated by gun control activists but slammed by gun rights advocates and the NRA.

Merchant category codes, according to Investopedia, are four-digit numbers that categorize businesses based on the types of goods or services being sold. The code will not affect the gun purchase itself, but will provide more transparency about the purchase.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international standard development organization composed of representatives from over 160 countries, approved the new merchant code on Friday. The payment giants announced their adherence to the code shortly after.

On Friday, MasterCard announced that it will focus on how the implementation will support “lawful purchases on our network” while protecting customers’ privacy. American Express also announced that it will meet regulations to help “prevent illegal activity​ on our network.”

Visa, the world’s largest payment network, followed suit on Saturday, stating that it will “protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules.”

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander welcomed the decision, saying it would help financial networks flag suspicious activity and save lives.

Gun control activists also celebrated the move, saying that the new code will help track suspicious or large-volume purchases of weapons and ammunition.

On the other hand, gun rights advocates argued against the broad categorization of the new merchant code. Since the new code tracks merchant types and not the actual items purchased, all purchases at gun and ammunition stores will be classified as gun sales. However, gun purchases at other retailer types may not be categorized as gun sales.

Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, accused the ISO of conceding to “anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time.”

“This is not about tracking or prevention or any virtuous motivation,” Dalseide argued. “It’s about creating a national registry of gun owners.”

Source: Insider