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In
March, the payments companies Visa, Mastercard, American Express
and Discover Financial said they would delay the rollout of a
"merchant category code," or MCC, meant to help detect
suspicious firearms and ammunition sales to combat gun violence
amid a spate of mass shootings.
The companies at the time cited legislation being passed in
Republican-led states to restrict the use of the codes, which
they said created legal inconsistencies. Opponents worry the
codes could be used to improperly track consumer behavior.
According to firearms industry trade group NSSF, seven states
have passed laws prohibiting use of the four-digit code, which
was approved by an international standards body last year.
Meanwhile in September California, the most populous U.S. state,
passed a law requiring use of the code.
In letters to each of the four companies dated Dec. 6 and seen
by Reuters, Warren and the other signatories said at least the
companies should implement the code in all states where it
remains legal.
"There is no legal or technical rationale" to avoid doing so,
they wrote.
Representatives for each of the four companies did not respond
to questions.
In their letters, the lawmakers asked the companies a dozen
questions about their work on the MCC to date, and cited the
growing number of U.S. mass shootings, including over 600 so far
in 2023. They referred to cases in which high-profile mass
shooters charged large firearms purchases on their credit cards
ahead of the crimes.
"Credit cards often facilitate the purchase of the weapons used
to commit this violence," the letters state. They were co-led by
Warren of Massachusetts and by U.S. Rep Madeleine Dean of
Pennsylvania.
NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said the firearm association hopes to
see federal legislation introduced to "protect the financial
privacy of Americans making lawful firearm purchases with credit
cards."
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(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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