Governor DeSantis signs three bills

RE: CS/SB 214.

This is an interesting bill which brought some attention to credit card companies’ requirement for merchants to file their business under one or more merchant category codes (MCC). The codes are created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Under the MCC firearms and ammunition sales were ‘coded’ under sporting goods.

That is, until 2022 when the ISO approved a New York-based bank’s application to adopt a new MCC for firearm retailers. The standard was updated and a new gun shop code of 5723 was established.

While credit card companies are not required to honor the new code, the major credit card companies have agreed to use the new code.

Whatever the reasoning behind the New York bank’s application -draw your own conclusions – the end result is tracking and listing legal purchases of firearms and ammunition by non-governmental entities.

In Florida, 790.065(1), F.S is very clear about legal purchases of firearms and ammunition; (purchase information of seller and buyer)…. “deemed confidential and exempt from public disclosure pursuant to s. 119.07(1), F.S., and may not be disclosed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to any person or to another agency.”

790.065 only covered government listings of purchases. 214 extends that to include credit card companies using the 5723 MCC.

Merchants and credit card companies have until July to work out an alternative and an avenue for customer re-dress of purchases already made under the 5723 code.