Visa and Mastercard are backing down.
According to a report from The Daily Wire, credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have decided not to track gun purchases with special retailer tags after facing blowback from Congress.
From The Daily Wire:
The payment processors announced last year that they would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant category code that could be used to better track gun and ammunition purchases from gun stores. The move riled gun rights supporters and provoked Republican lawmakers and attorneys general to take action against the payment processors.
Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, and Mastercard are now pausing adoption of the new code after the stiff opposition and in the face of several states moving forward with legislation that would block such tracking, according to Bloomberg.
“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,” a spokesman for Visa told Bloomberg. “It’s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.”
“Well done, it’s about time. US companies should not be taking orders from international NGOs to target legal industries,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN). “This politicization of our financial sector must stop.”
Well done, it’s about time. US companies should not be taking orders from international NGOs to target legal industries.
This politicization of our financial sector must stop.
https://t.co/wh7VezAH2o— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) March 9, 2023
Republicans were concerned that tracking gun purchases would violate Americans’ privacy rights and create an informal gun registry.
More over at The Daily Wire:
Visa, Mastercard Suspend Plans To Track Gun Purchases After Blowback https://t.co/zQlmKwmsUq pic.twitter.com/6c6gwkmluA
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) March 9, 2023
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