Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express have decided to suspend a plan to track the sale of firearms in hopes of helping curb gun violence.
The
decision comes as several bills in state legislatures target the
payment giants’ new merchant category code (MCC). The MCC was created to
be used when processing transactions for gun and ammunition stores.
- A Mastercard spokesman said the state bills, if passed, would create inconsistencies in how merchants and others apply the code.
- Visa said it paused its work due to the significant confusion and legal uncertainty the legislative proposals have created.
- Visa
and Mastercard had previously said that the new code would not provide
enough detail to determine the type of weapon being purchased.
- Many
politicians and Second Amendment advocates have criticized the new MCC
code, saying it intrudes on constitutional rights and privacy.
