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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Payment processor Visa announced Saturday it will start categorizing sales at gun shops effectively joining Mastercard and American Express (AmeEx) who had earlier announced similar measures.
The move is
sure to track suspicious sales ahead of potential mass shootings, according to
gun control advocates, the Washington Examiner reported. On the other side, gun
lobbyists fear it could be abused against those who lawfully purchase firearms.
Visa, the world
largest payment processor said it would adopt the International Organization
for Standardization’s new merchant code for gun sales, which was announced Friday,
The Associated Press reported. Before Friday’s announcement, gun store sales
were considered “general merchandise,” according to The Associated Press.
“Following
ISO’s decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed
with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa
network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” the payment processor said
in a statement, The Associated Press reported.
The move by
Visa, Mastercard and AmeEx could put pressure on banks to adopt the standard as
well since they are the card issuers. The payment processors act as middlemen
between merchants and banks, according to the Washington Examiner.
The Washington
Examiner reported that the International Organization for Standardization
confirmed a spokesperson Friday that one of its subcommittees had voted to
approve a new merchant code for firearms, which were previously categorized as “general
merchandise,”
The
International Organization for Standardization confirmed via a spokesperson
Friday that one of its subcommittees had voted to approve a new merchant code
for firearms, which were previously categorized as "general
merchandise," Reuters reported. The vote came following a petition by the Amalgamated
Bank of New York to the Geneva based organization.
“Following ISO’s decision to establish a new
merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we
protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our
long-standing rules," Visa said in a statement, the Washington Examiner
reported.
On Friday
MasterCard committed to the new code, applying it to its 249 million credit
cards in the United States and 725 million cards globally on Friday, according
to the Washington Examiner.
"We now
turn our focus to how it will be implemented by merchants and their banks as we
continue to support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy
and decisions of individual cardholders," a Mastercard spokesperson said.
American
Express also adopted the measure for its 53.8 million U.S. circulated credit
cards and 58.2 million worldwide, according to the Washington Examiner
"We are
focused on ensuring that we have the right controls in place to meet our
regulatory and fiduciary responsibilities, as well as prevent illegal activity
on our network," a spokesperson for American Express said.
The new code
could aid law enforcement to track how guns and ammunitions are purchased which
could help monitor suspicious transactions.