A new bank code will allow major credit card companies including Visa and American Express to track legal gun purchases. The rule change came about after activists pushed the financial industry to do more to curb mass shootings. Credit card companies vehemently fought against the special code but they ultimately lost that battle. Before the new code, purchases made in gun stores were listed under a generic code the equivalent to a general purchase.
This rule could lead to banks and/or credit card companies outright refusing purchases made at gun stores altogether as a form of non-legislated gun control. Advocates of gun control may initially applaud the effort if it goes to the extreme of an outright financial gun ban. The problem with that is the same mechanism can be used to ban the purchase of other things aside from guns. This would be especially troubling in a cashless society based on social credit, which is already in place in China.
SOURCES:
Visa, Mastercard, AmEx to start categorizing sales from gun shops
Visa, Mastercard, Amex to start categorizing gun store sales – YouTube
Visa, Mastercard, Amex tracking gun stores with new merchant category – YouTube
Gun law advocates hail credit card code as way to cut down suspicious sales
Credit card companies will adopt new sales code for gun transactions | CNN Business
Credit Card Issuers Join the Fight to Limit Mass Shootings – The New York Times
Comments are closed.