Thursday, March 2, 2023

Discover Financial to reportedly track gun store purchases starting in April (Connecting the Dots: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Financial Services & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Discover Financial to reportedly track gun store purchases starting in April (Connecting the Dots: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Financial Services & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Reuters reported that Discover is 'first among its peers to publicly give a date for moving ahead with the initiative'

Fox News

By Alexander Hall | Fox News

FINANCE Published March 2, 2023 6:03pm EST

https://www.foxnews.com/media/discover-financial-reportedly-track-gun-store-purchases-starting-april

The company behind Discover credit cards will reportedly be joining a larger initiative to track when cardholders make purchases at gun stores.

Multiple payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have already joined a massive project to separately categorize gun shop sales. The move has been hailed as a victory for gun control advocates who argue that a separate categorization for gun store sales will help monitor suspicious activity that could lead to mass shootings. Gun rights advocates on the other hand, have warned this could bring unwarranted scrutiny on the overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners.

"Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), a provider of credit cards, told Reuters it will allow its network to track purchases at gun retailers come April, making it the first among its peers to publicly give a date for moving ahead with the initiative, which is aimed at helping authorities probe gun-related crimes," Reuters reported.

The same article went on to claim, "Discover's announcement came after the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which decides on the classification of merchant categories used by payment cards, approved in September the launch of a dedicated code for gun retailers."

Customers wait at a store in Orem, Utah, on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)

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Discover told Reuters in a statement, "We remain focused on continuing to protect and support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy of cardholders."

One noteworthy nuance of this tracking system is that it monitors the total purchase made in a gun store, rather than distinguishing the specific items bought. So, purchasing supplies such as a gun safe or hunting gear, for example, would count toward that same purchase categorization in the same way a person would if they exclusively bought firearms and ammunition. 

 

Revolvers are displayed for sale at Firearms Unknown, a gun store in Oceanside, California, U.S., April 12, 2021.  REUTERS/Bing Guan (REUTERS/Bing Guan)

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In late 2022, National Rifle Association spokesman Lars Dalseide condemned this transaction monitoring system as part of a dystopian slippery slope, "The [industry’s] decision to create a firearm-specific code is nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time."

Discover responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment after this story was initially published:

"Discover has no plans to track cardholder purchases of firearms or provide that information to anyone, nor could we. Merchant Category Codes are used to categorize types of stores, and do not enable us to see the product that was purchased. We are not alone in using these codes; they are used consistently by all the major payment networks. We strongly believe in the right of our customers to use their Discover cards for any legal purchase and remain committed to maintaining the privacy of their information." 

Salesman Ryan Martinez clears the chamber of an AR-15 at the "Ready Gunner" gun store In Provo, Utah, U.S. in Provo, Utah, U.S., June 21, 2016. REUTERS/George Frey.

Connecting the Dots:

Suzanne Nora Johnson is a director at Visa Inc. and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Thomas J. Campbell was a director at Visa Inc. and is the dean for the Haas School of Business.

Richard C. Blum is a board member for the Haas School of Business, married to Senator Dianne Feinstein and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

James D. Robinson III was the chairman & CEO for the American Express Company (Bailout Company) and is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Joan E. Spero was the EVP for the American Express Company (Bailout Company) and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the American Express Company (Bailout Company).

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was a director at the American Express Company (Bailout Company), is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle.  

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, his senior adviser was Mark Schwartz and is the founder of Soros Fund Management.

Mark Schwartz was George Soros’s senior adviser, the president & CEO for Soros Fund Management and is a director at MasterCard Incorporated.

Soros Fund Management is a partner with the Silver Lake Kraftwerk Fund.

Silver Lake Kraftwerk Fund is a fund for Silver Lake.

John A. Swainson was a senior adviser for Silver Lake, and is a director at Visa Inc.

Suzanne Nora Johnson is a director at Visa Inc. and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank)John F. Kerry’s brother and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP, is a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a friend of Valerie B. Jarrett.

Michael H. Moskow is the vice chair for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a director at the Discover Financial Services (Bailout Company) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Jeffrey S. Aronin is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a director at the Discover Financial Services (Bailout Company) and was a fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of ChicagoVernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, a friend of Michelle Obama, and was the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr.  is Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was a director at the American Express Company (Bailout Company).

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the American Express Company (Bailout Company).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, his senior adviser was Mark Schwartz and is the founder of Soros Fund Management.

Mark Schwartz was George Soros’s senior adviser, the president & CEO for Soros Fund Management and is a director at MasterCard Incorporated.

Soros Fund Management is a partner with the Silver Lake Kraftwerk Fund.

Silver Lake Kraftwerk Fund is a fund for Silver Lake.

John A. Swainson was a senior adviser for Silver Lake, and is a director at Visa Inc.

Suzanne Nora Johnson is a director at Visa Inc. and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Resources: Past Research

American Express Company (Bailout Company) (Past Research on the American Express Company)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/american-express-company-bailout-company.html

Visa Inc. (Past Research on Visa Inc.)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/visa-inc.html

MasterCard Tests Credit Cards with Embedded Fingerprint Reader (Past Research on MasterCard)

THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/07/mastercard-tests-credit-cards-with.html

Hours After John Kerry Demands Green Transition Accelerated – His Emissions Closet Swings Wide Open (Connecting the Dots: Cameron Kerry, John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Soros, the Climate Reality Project, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the EPA and onto the FDA, Pfizer & Johnson & Johnson. It’s the Network That Never Ends. One Project (Climate Change) Just bleeds into the Next (Covid Project)) (Past Research on Cameron Kerry)

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/07/hours-after-john-kerry-demands-green.html

Discover Financial Services (Bailout Company) (Past Research on the Discover Financial Services)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/discover-financial-services-bailout.html

The Valerie Jarrett Power Matrix - Background research (Past Research on Valerie Jarrett)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2013

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-valerie-jarrett-power-matrix.html

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