Card Companies Stop Working On Code To Track Firearm Sales

Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover have stopped working on a new merchant category code for gun shops in the U.S. because Republican lawmakers have said they don’t like the idea.

The new merchant category code (MCC) will show where firearms are bought, but it won’t say what was bought.

The card companies agreed to use the code last year after the International Organization for Standardization approved it in response to pressure from gun-control activists who say it will help keep track of suspicious gun purchases.

But the plan has gotten a lot of pushback, and Republican-led states have introduced bills that would stop or limit the use of the voluntary code.

In a statement to Reuters, Visa says:

“There is now significant confusion and legal uncertainty in the payments ecosystem, and the state actions disrupt the intent of global standards. Accordingly, Visa is pausing implementation of the MCC.”

Seth Eisen, SVP, communications, Mastercard, tells Fox:

“Today, there are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code. If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this ISO standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers and networks.

It’s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.”