*PAYMENTS GIANTS TO APPLY NEW CODE IDENTIFYING SALES AT U.S. GUN STORES - $MA $V $AXP
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Visa credit and debit cards are seen in this picture illustration taken August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo -Visa Inc, the world's largest payments processor, said on Saturday it will implement a new merchant category code for U.S. gun retailers, which will identify transactions at firearms stores.
The International Organization for Standardization approved creation of the merchant code on Friday following pressure from gun-control activists who say it will help track suspicious weapons purchases. "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," Visa said in a statement.
Mastercard Inc said on Friday that following ISO's approval,"we now turn our focus to how it will be implemented by merchants and their banks as we continue to support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy and decisions of individual cardholders."