Major credit card companies are preparing to equip California firearm retailers with a merchant code to track gun and ammunition purchases. The move comes after a bill passed that allows banks to keep tabs on what lawmakers call “suspicious” transactions.
Merchant codes are four-digit numbers used by credit card companies to classify purchases from businesses, and they’re nothing new.
For instance, buying flowers from a floral shop or nursery with a Visa or Mastercard credit card would generate merchant code 0780, categorized under “landscaping and horticultural services.” Similarly, taking a pet to the vet and paying with a credit card would generate merchant code 0742, which is listed as “veterinary services.”
Merchant codes serve as a means to collect data on customer purchasing patterns.
Gun control proponents at Guns Down America assert that “banks and credit card companies have an opportunity to stop gun violence before it happens.”
The activist group said “credit cards have been used to finance dozens of gun crimes since 2019,” including the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.
The Pulse perpetrator, who killed 49 individuals, utilized credit cards to acquire over $20,000 worth of firearms and ammunition just weeks before the June 2016 shooting.
Members of Guns Down America argue that law enforcement officials could have flagged his activity as “suspicious” and potentially intervened had the purchases been monitored.
“Merchant category codes can be used to create what are called detection scenarios,” said Hudson Munoz, the executive director of Guns Down America. “Which would say, ‘Hey, something is not right here. Take a deeper look. See if there’s a problem and if so, report it out to law enforcement.’”
Initially slated for nationwide rollout in September 2022, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express postponed their efforts in March 2023 due to opposition from Second Amendment advocates.
Now, at least seven Republican-controlled state legislatures have banned a merchant code for gun retailers with at least nine others are considering implementing similar legislation.
A spokesperson for the National Rifle Association said creating a merchant code for gun shops “is not about tracking or prevention or any virtuous motivation — it’s about creating a national registry of gun owners.”
Other gun rights supporters expressed they were worried banks could use the purchase information to block other legal purchases.
Now, nearly a year later, credit card companies are on schedule to have firearm retailer merchant codes ready when California’s new law takes effect May 1, 2025.
