Citi Merchant Services Refuses To Process Credit Card Sales For Firearms

I have been hearing mumblings and grumblings lately that Citi Merchant Service and First Data Corp. had stopped accepting their credits cards used in the purchasing of guns. Thanks to a Black Bear Blog reader who alerted me, it seems that the National Shooting Sports Foundation has verified this to be true and explains what has happened.

The story has become a bit bigger than just the credit card processing. NSSF posted on their website information about this announcement by Citi. NSSF posted a copy of a letter sent to CDNN Sports, Inc., a company that sells firearms, from Citi Merchant Service. That letter stated that Citi was dropping CDNN and would not be processing any more of their firearms transactions.

Citi explained to Charlie Crawford of CDNN Sports, Inc. the reason they were being dumped.

“…..due to the sale of firearms in a non face-to-face environment. Keep in mind that a violation of the Gun Control Act occurs when a gun offered online is sold to an individual in another state; the act prohibits selling a handgun to a resident of another state. Shipping across state lines is also banned, yet guns for sale online reach people across the country. We at Citi Merchant Service are unable to monitor or track adherence to these Gun Control laws.”

NSSF apparently posted this information at their website to inform readers and members of actions by Citi Merchant Service. At the same time, in a letter ultimately sent to Citi, Jake McGuigan, Director of Government Relations and Ted Novin, Director of Public Affairs for NSSF, believed this letter that was sent to CDNN Sports, Inc. had to have come from a single, perhaps even unauthorized employee of Citi Merchant Service, because it “contained so many errors that one could only deduce that it was an uniformed mistake that would consequently be corrected.”

In what to me anyway, seems to be a very childish move, First Data Corp. sent an email to NSSF as a plea to, “respectfully request that you remove the posting from your website regarding Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp.”

First Data Corp insisted the posting at NSSF site was inaccurate. They explain that the letter, of which NSSF posted on their website to CDNN Sports, Inc. from Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp, “did a less than satisfactory job of expressing applicable policies.”

In their feeble attempt to right the record, First Data Corp explains why they won’t process cards for purchases of guns online. The company’s position is, “Our policy restrictions address only the sale of firearms in a non face-to-face environment. Non face-to-face transactions occur when a cardholder is not present in front of a merchant and includes mail order and online purchases. It is our policy not to service merchants that make non face-to-face sales in a number of industries, including firearms.”

It became obvious to NSSF that Citi Merchant Service and First Data Corp either were just plain anti-gun or were ignorant of the laws or both. NSSF replied to the request to take down the website posting.

NSSF refused to take down the posting and explained that according to the information they had received, including the email sent to them, the information on their website was accurate.

NSSF will not remove its Web posting nor will we rescind or alter our story.

NSSF went on to tell them they obviously were totally ignorant of existing laws.

Your antigun corporate policy is based on ignorance of the law applicable to the sale of firearms.

It’s so bad that NSSF had to explain to CMS and FDC the legal industry processes they were interfering with.

Furthermore, the policy of First Data and Citi Merchant Services interferes with the receiving and shipping of inventory from and to federally licensed firearms retailers, distributors and manufacturers. This inventory supplies not only lawabiding Americans, but military and law enforcement agencies as well.

Got Citi?

Tom Remington