New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reportedly sent a letter to nine major credit card companies urging them to consider grouping firearm purchases in with “high-risk” purchases such as pornography and illicit drugs.
DiNapoli, whose office oversees the state’s $209.1 billion public employee retirement system, is seeking to use the fact that New York’s system owns millions of their shares on behalf of over a million retirees to exert pressure on the CEOs of American Express Co., Visa Inc., Discover Financial Services, Mastercard Inc. and several other companies, according to Bloomberg News.
“If gun violence continues unabated in society — public outcry and calls for action may grow and create significant financial risk for the company,” wrote DiNapoli, who is reportedly afraid that processing gun sales could lead to a loss of reputation and value for the firms, in a letter to Mastercard.
According to Bloomberg, DiNapoli is “asking them to assess risks and explore the cost of implementing systems that could reject purchases of firearms, ammunition or accessories.” If implemented, consumers in the state wouldn’t be able to use their credit cards to purchase these items.
In March, Citigroup issued prohibitions on bump stocks, as well as allowing those under 21 or who fail a background check from purchasing firearms, on retailers that use its cards for store-branded credit cards and lending services.
DiNapoli reportedly cited companies such as PayPay and Apple Pay, which currently ban gun and ammunition purchases, as an example of what he would like the targeted credit card companies to implement.