New Merchant Code Approved for Card Purchases of Guns, Ammunition

A subcommittee the International Standards Organization approved the code

A customer shops for a pistol at Freddie Bear Sports sporting goods store in Tinley Park, Ill., on Dec.17, 2012. Scott Olson/Getty Images

An international standards body has approved the creation of a merchant category code for gun retailers to identify credit card sales of guns and ammunition.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)—an independent non-governmental body based in Geneva, Switzerland that creates standards across various industries, including the financial services industry—has approved the new merchant category code for gun and ammunition stores, according to a Sept. 9 announcement from Amalgamated Bank, a New York-based bank that had applied to ISO for the merchant category code.