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?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

DON'T MISS

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

DON'T MISS

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

DON'T MISS

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

DON'T MISS

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

DON'T MISS

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

UP NEXT

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

UP NEXT

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

UP NEXT

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

UP NEXT

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Trump’s Immigration Approval Ratings Decline as Enforcement Tactics Lose Support

UP NEXT

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

UP NEXT

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

UP NEXT

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

2 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

2 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

2 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

2 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

2 hours ago

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

3 hours ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

4 hours ago

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

4 hours ago

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

4 hours ago

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

5 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

WASHINGTON — Many Americans do not agree with President Trump’s aggressive efforts to quickly enact his agenda, a new poll finds, and ...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

1 hour ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

1 hour ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

2 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

2 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

2 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

2 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

Rams
2 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

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

Search

Send this to a friend