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Education

based on the description of the merchant. It can change guns, munition or firearms. I suspect that, when in doubt,
over time. For example, if a barbershop morphs into a bar, acquirers will lean toward re-classifying merchants that
the MCC of this location should reflect that. Practically, could potentially be firearm merchants. I further expect
unless there is an event such as an ownership change or them to auto-outsort websites that are similarly worded
a request to add tipping, the evolution of the business and classify them as gun or ammunition sellers, as well.
would not, by itself, trigger an MCC change. Likewise,
with the creation of a new MCC for gun sales, existing During this process, many merchants will be closed as
merchants would not be automatically updated because some acquirers decide to exit the guns and ammunition
there is no automated way to carve out existing gun sales business. Others will be miscoded as gun or ammunition
from sporting goods stores. merchants because their names had the word "gun" in
them.
New MCCs are created regularly. Acquirer systems are
prepared to add them, and new merchants are categorized I encourage you to reach out to your acquirers. Understand
based on their MCC and adjudicated based upon the how and if they will reclassify your merchants and make
acquirer's underwriting criteria. Existing merchants are sure you are copied on any MCC change so you can ensure
managed differently. There is typically no mad rush to it properly reflects the merchant's primary business.
update an acquirer's portfolio to identify and re-code
the existing merchant base, especially when there is no As founder of Humboldt Merchant Services, co-founder of Eureka
modification to interchange. This time will be different.
Payments, and a former executive for such payments innovators as
If, God forbid, another Uvalde-type massacre should WePay, a division of JPMorgan Chase, Ken Musante has experience in
occur, and if it came to light the acquirer had not coded all aspects of successful ISO building. He has also served as an expert
a firearms merchant correctly, that acquirer would be witness on numerous complex civil and criminal cases in payments,
subject to enormous legal and reputational risk. a service he provides, along with consulting on merchant services
and platforms, as founder of Napa Payments and Consulting, www.
What is to come napapaymentsandconsulting.com. Contact him at kenm@napapay-
mentsandconsulting.com, 707 601 7656 or www.linkedin.com/in/
I expect acquirers to scrub their files. I expect them to auto- ken-musante-us/.
outsort any merchant name that might be associated with