Can you buy a gun with a credit card?

You can buy a gun with a credit card but not everywhere. Several major credit card processors – including PayPal, Stripe and Square – do not accept gun purchases. They classify firearms as a “high risk” purchase, a designation used for transactions with a high potential for chargebacks and/or fraud. This applies both online and in person. But some other payment processors – including eMerchantBroker, Payline Data and Instabill.com  – will allow you to buy a gun with a credit card. 

So if you run into problems trying to complete a gun purchase with a credit card, the issue won’t be with the merchant, but with its payment processor. If you visit a retailer that accepts high-risk transactions, which becomes more likely the more gun-focused a store is, your firearms purchase will go smoother than it would at the likes of Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Here is what you should know about buying a gun with a credit card:

• Smith & Wesson, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Remington Outdoor and Hyatt Gun Shopare some of the national retailers that use “gun friendly” credit card processors.
• Gun-friendly credit card processors such as Payment Alliance International charge a convenience fee for high risk purchases on a credit card. In most cases, merchants will either offer discounts for payments in cash or impose a surcharge, an added charge for the privilege of using a credit card. By law, the surcharge cannot exceed 4 percent of the cost of the transaction.
• Vendors at gun shows also use high-risk credit card processors, but they also charge a standard price for cash purchases and a higher price for credit card sales. If you have to use a credit card for your gun purchase and are willing to absorb the extra charges, the plus is that you’ll have a wider range of firearms from which to choose at a gun show then you would in-store at a gun retailer.
• If you are able to buy a gun online, the gun will not be sent directly to your home. It will be sent to a dealer with a Federal Firearms License, where you’ll have to retrieve it after completing all the necessary paperwork as well as the background check. You will also be charged for the transfer of the gun.

Buying a gun with a credit card comes down to finding a merchant whose payment processor accepts credit cards, your willingness to pay extra charges, and what kind of delivery you‘ll accept.