Merchant Code for Firearms Sales Gets a Green Light

Source: American Banker

A new code identifying credit card sales of guns and ammunition has been approved by the International Standards Organization, creating a potential path for card networks to help law enforcement agencies identify suspicious sales of guns and ammunition.

The move comes after three years of research and advocacy by New York-based Amalgamated Bank, working with Guns Down America, Giffords Law Center and other groups to find ways to counter gun violence without impeding legal gun sales, Amalgamated Bank said Friday in a statement.

Merchant category codes (MCCs) generally identify the type of merchandise a store sells, but they don't specify individual products a customer is buying. So the move could have limited effect in pinpointing individual weapon purchases, observers say.

But adding an MCC for gun-store sales could enhance law enforcement's ability to track illicit gun purchases. Until now, there has been no unique MCC for merchandise sold at gun and ammunition stores, with weapons sales at gun stores typically classified as "miscellaneous" or "sporting goods."