Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Visa, Mastercard Halt Gun Shop Purchase Tracking After Backlash
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
March 10, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases.

The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups. There had been hope that categorizing credit and debit card purchases would allow authorities to potentially see red flags — like significant ammunition purchases — before a mass shooting could happen.

After Visa and Mastercard announced their plans to implement a separate merchant category code for gun shop purchases, the payment networks got significant pushback from the gun lobby as well as conservative politicians. A group of 24 GOP state attorneys general wrote a letter to the payment networks threatening legal action against Visa and Mastercard if they moved forward with their plan.

There are also bills pending in several state legislatures that would ban the tracking of purchases at gun shops, which would have made it even more difficult for Visa and Mastercard to implement the categorization.

In a statement, Visa indicated that the legal pushback was partially the reason they have paused their implementation.

“There is now significant confusion and legal uncertainty in the payments ecosystem, and the state actions disrupt the intent of global standards,” the company said.

Visa and Mastercard have said that the reason for the gun shop category was a decision outside of their control. The International Organization for Standardization, better known as ISO, is the group that categorizes merchant codes and Visa and Mastercard were just following their decision. Gun control advocates lobbied for the change to ISO, not to Visa and Mastercard.

Further, Visa and Mastercard’s plan would not have tracked individual gun purchases. It would have instead broken out purchases at gun stores as a separate category. But not all large purchases at a gun shop would have been considered a red flag.

For example a purchase of a gun safe, which costs several thousands of dollars, would have been seen as a large purchase at a gun shop even though the safe is considered a responsible tool of gun ownership and unrelated to potential mass shootings.

“Visa and Mastercard came to the correct conclusion. However, they shouldn’t just ‘pause’ their implementation of this plan—they should end it definitively,” said Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led the 24 state GOP group to pressure Visa and Mastercard to drop the standard, in a statement.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Justice Department Reaches Deal to Allow Boeing to Avoid Prosecution Over 737 Max Crashes

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Southwest Shooting Through Valley Crime Stoppers’ Tip

6 hours ago

18 Injured in Knife Attack in Hamburg, Report Says

7 hours ago

Fresno County Man Killed in Head-On Collision Identified

A 20-year-old Raisin City man was killed early Thursday morning in a head-on collision north of Huntsman Avenue, according to the California...

5 hours ago

fresno
5 hours ago

Fresno County Man Killed in Head-On Collision Identified

6 hours ago

California Allocates $56 Million to Combat Youth Homelessness

6 hours ago

Let the Hunt for Fresno County Fruit Trail Delights Begin!

A Valley Crimes Stoppers tip and surveillance footage led Fresno police to arrest Andy Ramos on Thursday, May 22, 2025, who confessed to a May 11 shooting that left a man hospitalized in stable condition. (Fresno PD)
6 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Southwest Shooting Through Valley Crime Stoppers’ Tip

Police officers and forensic experts work at Hamburg's main train station, after several people were injured in a knife attack, in Hamburg, Germany, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
7 hours ago

18 Injured in Knife Attack in Hamburg, Report Says

A view of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
7 hours ago

White House National Security Council Hit by More Firings, Sources Say

Emergency personnel work at the crash scene on a street, after a small civilian aircraft went down in a military neighborhood in San Diego, California, U.S. May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake
7 hours ago

All Six People Aboard Plane That Crashed in San Diego Confirmed Dead

8 hours ago

Explore the Wild Side of Route 66 With These Natural Wonders

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend