Gun Sales At US Stores Could Soon Be Tracked As Visa, Mastercard And American Express Plan To Adopt New ID Code

Payment processors have agreed to adopt a merchant code approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for identifying arms purchases, Reuters reported.

The ISO on Friday approved the creation of a merchant code for gun retailers, bowing to pressure from activists who see this as a measure to track suspicious weapons purchases, a separate Reuters report said, citing a spokesperson of the Geneva-based non-profit organization.

Previously, gun store sales were categorized as general merchandise.

Visa, Inc. V reported on Saturday that it would adopt the new “merchant category code” for U.S. gun retailers.

“Following ISO's decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” the global payment processor reportedly said in a statement.

See also: Elon Musk Weighs In On Gun Control, 'Homicide Insurance' Following Uvalde School Mass Shooting

Mastercard, Inc. MA also said it would focus on how the new code would be implemented by merchants and banks, Reuters said. American Express AXP, another peer, reportedly said when ISO develops a new code it would work with third-party processors and partners on implementation.

The code, however, might not be a fool-proof method of tracking as it identifies the place of purchase and not what was purchased, the reports said.

Congress members, top pension funds, and activists, have been among those calling for implementing such a measure to track suspicious weapons purchases, especially following multiple incidents of mass shootings that have claimed innocent lives.

Photo: Courtesy of Michael Saechang on flickr