H R 1811A Merchant Category Code (MCC) is a four‑digit number assigned by credit card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) to classify the type of goods or services a merchant sells.

House of Representatives bill H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, prohibits payment card networks and payment processors from assigning a MCC that distinguishes firearms retailers from general merchandise or sporting goods retailers.

Under the Biden administration, left-wing activists sought to pressure credit card companies to create a new MCC for firearm purchases, which would have allowed the Biden administration to easily surveil Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.

This important bill will prevent credit card companies from creating this specialized MCC which opens the door for further surveillance of law-abiding citizens. This legislation protects Americans’ financial privacy and ensures that firearms businesses are not unfairly singled out by financial institutions.

This bill passed the House by a vote of 221-201.  All New York Republicans voted for the bill and all New York Democrats voted against the bill.

It was referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs