Payment Processors
PayPal
Blanket prohibition on firearms transactions.
Stripe
Shut down payment processing for Gab. Blocked donations to Trump’s campaign.
Firearms Merchant Category Code (MCC)
- 2022: ISO adopted new four-digit MCC for gun/ammunition shops, at urging of Amalgamated Bank (New York) working with gun control groups
- Previously gun shops lumped with general sporting goods stores
- Visa, Mastercard, American Express initially agreed to implement, then paused after backlash from Second Amendment advocates
- California passed law requiring firearms retailers to adopt the code by May 2025
- Multiple red states passed laws prohibiting the code
- The MCC shows that a transaction occurred at a gun store and the total amount; does not show individual items purchased
Sources
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-express-visa-mastercard-gun-merchant-code/
- https://fortune.com/2024/07/01/credit-card-gun-sales-policy-flight-california-visa-mastercard-codes-gun-store-purchases/
- https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/firearm-hunting/the-truth-about-credit-card-companies-tracking-gun-purchases