Report: U.S. Banks Working On Tech For "Detection Scenarios" To Prevent Mass Shootings

According to a report by Bloomberg News, banks in the U.S. are now working on technology that they say will track users' purchases to prevent mass shootings.

The news came out of a speech by Amalgamated Bank Chief Executive Officer Priscilla Sims Brown at the New York Times DealBook conference. In her speech, Brown talked about behind-the-scenes changes that consumers might not notice, although they could have major impact on firearms purchases down the road. The International Organization for Standardization recently approved a new merchant category code for retailers that's specifically aimed at gun and ammunition sales. In other words: If you buy a Remington 870 or a box of 12 gauge duck loads for that shotgun, your credit card company can look at the sales data and knows you've been shopping at a firearms retailer.

At this point, the banks do not know exactly what you purchased, only the amount you spent, and where you spent it. However, Brown says the plan is to develop similar technology to what's currently in place for anti-fraud efforts. What, exactly, does that mean? How will the banks be able to extrapolate criminal plans from your gun store purchases without having access to other personal details that may or may not be their business? Will they just report a sudden increase in firearms purchases, flagging that with an over-seeing body?

Immediately, some problems with the tech are apparent. Many hunters and target shooters buy their ammunition in bulk, when it goes on sale. Would Grandpa Joe be flagged when, after 11 months without buying ammo, he suddenly drops $300 on Winchester Xperts?

That's somewhat unclear at this point, just as it's unclear how this technology would prevent mass murderers from simply buying their weapons with cold, hard cash to avoid the commerce sector's Minority Report technology... not to mention the fact that nobody who's buying weapons off the streets will be using a credit card for those deals.

Many U.S. gun owners paint this as an attempt to build a sort of back-door firearms registry. In a country with wide-ranging licencing requirements between various jurisdictions and no federal firearms registry (and little realistic chance of building one), some gun owners believe this is collusion between federal agencies and financiers to create a crude list of who owns what guns.

While that may sound overly suspicious, the ATF does have databases that track firearms linked to closed-down businesses or criminal activity. There are also several jurisdictions within the country that require some firearms be registered. But realistically, given the vast amount of information collected through social media and other technology, it seems likely that in the U.S., the Feds could easily build a fairly accurate database through only the contents of your Facebook account and your phone's photo folder.

Here in Canada

This initiative was announced in the U.S., but make no mistake, it will also be enacted in Canada—where some firearms-related businesses have already experienced issues dealing with banks in recent years, basically being cut loose by national financial institutions. Does this foreshadow more difficulty between firearms retailers or buyers and the banks? We will find out as the technology develops, but in today's opinion-dominated economic climate, do not be surprised if complications develop with this tech down the road.