By Updated 9/08/23. ANZ Bank cancels services to the Australian shooting industry.
UPDATE 9/08/23: ANZ Worldline has resumed services to the Australian shooting industry.
SIFA thanks ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott and ANZ Worldline CEO Petr Ryska for listening to our position.
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In another corporate social attack on the Australian shooting industry, ANZ Bank has cancelled the essential banking services of several licensed firearms dealers, leaving them with a limited ability to transact in the lead up to the Christmas period.
In a letter sent to long standing loyal ANZ customers, and viewed by SIFA, ANZ has advised that their “Payment Solutions’ policy and Card Scheme Rules strictly prohibit the sale of weapons online to ensure that customers who purchase weapons attend in-store to provide appropriate licence and permits checks, as is required by relevant laws“.
The Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia has been further told by ANZ customer service representatives, that this is a result of ANZ merging their merchant services business with international monolith Wordline Payments, who have a global policy not to provide their services to businesses that deal in firearms and related accessories.
James Walsh SIFA CEO said, “By de-platforming our industry, ANZ have ignored Australia’s strong and robust firearms legislative regime that mandates how a firearm transaction takes place”.
SIFA has called into question ANZ’s reasons for cancelling the Australian shooting industry, as regardless of how a payment is made, every legal firearm transaction in Australia is registered, and must be done so via a licensed firearms dealer to a police-checked firearm license holder, who has the appropriate permits in place.
“By removing the ability for licensed dealers to accept certain payments by credit card, all it does it make it harder for businesses to transact with their customers, meaning they will need to source other, often less secure, payment alternatives”, Mr Walsh said.
The Australian shooting industry has been battling institutions and organisations who have enacted various social policies that have led to the cancelation of essential businesses services to our industry.
“Regardless of what ANZ purports, this decision is simply a social restraint of trade on a legal and highly regulated industry, as firearms dealers who bank with ANZ will now be unable to take payments from remote customers or have the ability to service any customers who do not live in the local area”.
“Just like TNT who sold to FedEx and then cancelled our industry, ANZ is another Australian institution trying to cast their moral judgements on Australian consumers and businesses.”, Mr Walsh said.
In a further blow, affected firearms dealers who requested that their merchant services remain active until after the Christmas period, have been told that their services will still be cancelled, leaving them with limited time to source another provider in time to meet the demand of the Christmas period.
SIFA is calling on all of Australia’s 1,000,000 licensed shooters and over 450 licensed firearms dealer businesses, who bank with ANZ, to send them and their shareholders a very loud message by cancelling their accounts and moving their business elsewhere.
