Ammunition and gun purchases are now accepted by card

Gun retailers will be able to identify credit card sales of guns and ammunition using an international merchant category code that was created by an international standards body.

It has been announced that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has approved a new merchant category code for gun and ammunition stores. The ISO, a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, creates standards across various industries. A New York-based bank that applied for a merchant category code to ISO, Amalgamated Bank, announced the change on Sept. 9.

Retailers across many industries are categorized by four-digit merchant category codes.

The approval from ISO enables banks that process payments from gun retailers to decide whether they should assign the new category code to gun merchants. The code could help monitors track where a person spends money via card, but wouldn’t show what specific items were purchased.

Its decision to push for a new code of conduct is the result of nearly three years of research and partnership with experts at Guns Down America and Giffords Law Center and broad support from politicians, pension funds, and others. Amalgamated Bank, which calls itself "America's socially responsible bank," said that its decision was a result of nearly three years of research and partnership.

10 Sep 2022