I’m in the process of cancelling my Citibank card as I write this. It will go into the shredder shortly.
The new policy, announced Thursday, prohibits the sale of firearms to customers who have not passed a background check or who are younger than 21. It also bars the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. It would apply to clients who offer credit cards backed by Citigroup or borrow money, use banking services or raise capital through the company.
The rules, which the company described as “common-sense measures,†echo similar restrictions established by some major retailers, like Walmart. But they also represent the boldest such move to emerge from the banking sector.
And I just took the “common-sense measure” of shredding my card, after calling and cancelling. They noted I had been a card holder for 27 years, and asked what they did to upset me. I sure as hell told them. I also told them to delete all contact information for me, put me on their “do not market to” list and remove my phone number from their system. You don’t want this cancer spreading? Do what I did. Get Woke, Go Broke.
This was the first credit card I ever held. Got it when I was in college.
UPDATE:
Edward Skyler, an executive vice president at Citigroup who helped craft the policy, wrote in a blog post that the company’s announcement “will invite passion on both sides.†But he stressed that the policies are “not centered on an ideological mission to rid the world of firearms.â€
Deputy Mayor under Bloomberg. Time to stop laughing at Bloomberg. He’s starting to win, and he and his rich buddies can basically end us. The only thing we have as a defense is each other, and it’s absolutely imperative right now to keep NRA strong.
Gotta keep killing the culture every way you can.
1) Comms (YouTube, Google, Facebook)
2) Financial
3) …
Damn, I’m going to have to fight with the wife to get rid of our Citibank card just because of the amount and rate, but something has to be done. The only way companies are going to recognize gun owners rights is if they realize they are losing business.
When I read this on ZH, I wired the entirety of my savings account with them to another bank and I canceled my credit card as well. I also cashed out my reward points into Cabelas gift cards and asked them to note on the account that I would be purchasing “High Capacity Magazines” at Cabelas using said gift cards.
They were scripted to be upset when a 22-year customer with an outstanding credit score and a relatively large savings account closed everything. I’ve already received one follow up call asking if “there is anything we can do to change your mind”. Sure – have Mr. Corbat retract the statement and decision via the NYT and we can talk after that. I don’t expect many more calls or a new NYT article….
Yeah, they tried to keep Sebastian, too. But in the way she worded it, it actually served as a reminder for him to add on the demand that he be removed from all mail and phone marketing lists that he never wanted to hear from them again other than the letter they have to send confirming the end of the account and removal from all their lists.
Then, strangely, the woman said, “God bless you” as he wrapped up the call.
Funny – The account rep transferred me to the rewards department after confirmation of account closure.
I was 462 points shy of the total to get another $100 gift card instead of a $75 (I had enough points for multiple cards). As a “loyal and long-time customer”, he was authorized to give me 500 bonus points if I wanted to get the $100 card. So I did.
Hopefully, the cards actually show up in the next few weeks – I have the email confirmation.
If she was from the south “Bless your heart” and similar sayings are basically a way of saying “Go F yourself.”
Being from Oklahoma, I am quite familiar with the phrase Bless Your Heart. And I reported that she said God Bless You, which isn’t used in that context often. Also, she was clearly Indian based on her heavy accent.
I thought that was really strange.
Only Citi card I have is my Best Buy card. I’ll be cancelling that.
Me too, this afternoon. Does anyone know if Citi still owns Travelers insurance?
Just cancelled my Best Buy card. They asked me why, after 15 years, I was cancelling. I told them.
I think it’s helpful if struggling companies who really can’t afford to see customers turned off of their brand but whose cards are issued through Citibank hear why they may lose customers. Because if you no longer have a Best Buy card, then it’s probable less of an incentive to buy from Best Buy. Same for Sears with us.
Definitely. It will definitely make me buy from Best Buy less, because I get more points through the card.
Those companies don’t want to wade into this issue. But now they are getting pulled in. And they are losing sales over something they didn’t do.
Hopefully BB will change companies, and Citi will feel the pain.
Looks like Traveler’s was spun off.
Aren’t there a bunch of laws that more or less require banks to do business with everyone who isn’t doing illegal things? I seem to recall that these were put in place in the civil rights era to prevent banks from discriminating based on race etc. Couldn’t these be used to counter this?
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is what’s needed.
A complaint to the appropriate federal bank regulator may be in order. I’m not sure what agency that would be. Controller of the Currency perhaps. How about the Lizzie Warren creation, the Customer Financial Protection Board? If gun dealers cannot process credit cards, many will disappear thereby harming consumers exercising their constitutional rights. It would be ironic if we could use the CFPB to protect 2nd Amendment Rights.
You are correct. FDIC federal covers loses. Federal law
regulates interstate commerse. This is a violation of egual rights!
The problem with this is that it will now become a virtue signaling contest between banks. Expect tremendous pressure on other banks to follow suit. We need to find a good way to counterattack. I don’t what that is, but we need to find it.
For what it’s worth, I don’t know how easy it will be for banks to enforce this on consumers. It seems to me the real target is independent gun stores. Denial of banking services will drive most out of business.
I’m really starting to wonder if something is going on behind Closed Doors, that is bigger than what we expect, and the MSM is effectively covering up.
My speculation is that Bloomberg and the Democrat Party Billionaire Donor Class are looking to do to the Gun Culture overall, regarding the “Negligent Entrustment” avenue that the Sandy Hook School Shooting Lawsuit tried to accomplish.
Think about it. These Gun Ban groups could be threatening Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, aka, SLAPP Lawsuit against companies like Kroeger, for selling Firearm related magazine content, and financial institutions like CITI Group for allowing commercial transactions that “endanger the public”, regarding firearms.
CITI Group needs to be hit with that Sherman Anti-Trust Act, alongside the Tech Giants, because they are acting as political agents of the Gun-Ban Movement.
Also, I want Bloomberg and these Gun-Ban groups to get hit with the RICO Act, because something tells me that they are threatening anyone in business regarding firearms with SLAPP Lawsuits.
Interesting. And probably not far off the mark. Good lucking finding anybody willing to go against the Dem machine.
Citigroup isn’t a monopoly. Not even really close. And RICO is a non-starter. That’s not how it works.
I don’t think they are threatening anybody. Citigroup is based in New York City, and Bloomberg’s former deputy mayor is a top executive at Citi and is the architect of this. They are going along because they agree with this bullshit.
Understood. Like you though, I’m enraged that this is all going on.
Aristocratic, Leftwing, Fabian Socialist Billionaires like Bloomberg, especially WallStreet and Silicon Valley Democrats, seem to have it as their collective lifelong goal to attain Civilian Disarmament and door-to-door gun confiscation in America.
I have no respect for the life of Michael Bloomberg, and other figureheads, of what really is, the Democrat Party Billionaire Donor Class.
Also, everyone, I apologize for the multiple comments, but the Omnibus Spending Bill that Trump is about to sign authorizes the CDC to conduct “Gun Violence Research”. Get ready for the following.
1). Gun Ownership to be “linked” to “paranoia symptomatic mental disorders”.
2). Mandatory Liability Insurance (Poll Taxes) for gun ownership.
3). Mandatory Police Safety Inspections for gunowners’ homes. If you’re a gunowner, you will be forced to forfeit your 4th Amendment Rights.
“If you’re a gunowner, you will be forced to forfeit your 4th Amendment Rights.”
Some gun owners might. Others will not.
Hmm, is that true, in re CDC? Bearing Arms just had a post quoting Chris Cox who was saying that the Dickey Amendment stays unchanged.
https://bearingarms.com/micah-r/2018/03/22/nra-reiterates-its-position-on-dickey-amendment-gun-violence-research/
It’s bullshit going around, spread by Bloomberg’s folks. Dickey never banned research, only advocacy.
“But that bans research [because the only research we want is undisguised advocacy]!!!”
So, I am wondering what would happen if several million gun owners were to buy one or two shares of Citibank and then… I don’t know, send a representative to a shareholder’s meeting to “politely ask” to have certain policies removed.
Not a lot… there are 2.56 billion outstanding shares of C. 82+% are held by institutional investors (Blackrock, Vanguard, BNY, JPM Chase, etc).
Removing investor returns is about the only thing that could influence a decision like this.
I’d say nothing. Being a common stock holder is basically worthless unless you own a controlling interest. Even a large group of individuals holding a controlling interest would probably get steam rolled.
Citi issues the GSA and DOD Travel Cards. I wonder if someone might put a bee in a Senatorial or Representational bonnet about that…
I like the way you think! I may contact my Rep about this…
Doesn’t the DOD buy a shit-ton of “Large Capacity Magazines” and give under 21 year olds handle firearms?
Hey, if they want to engage in social engineering you don’t get to pick and choose. DOD should put out a request for a new expense card vendor that will support their business needs. Despite Wells Fargo’s recent stupidity, they are at least friendly to firearms companies and I am sure would love that government contract!
Great catch!
I am cancelling accounts too. MetLife is the big one. But our impact as individuals is limited. We need organization to do an effective boycott. This is a job for the NRA which has the reach to do it. They need to get on it.
Actually, this is where the power of a grassroots network helps more. The problem with NRA calling for the boycott is that if the boycott turns out not to be effective, it makes NRA look ineffective. Even if the boycott doesn’t end a business, if it gives them bigger headaches than they expected and the only boycott was organized organically, it speaks more volumes.
Got a gun club newsletter? Write an article for the next edition highlighting what companies are trying to keep the next generation of gun owners down.
It is true that NRA has to be careful not to have a failure. Perhaps a start with grass roots, then if it starts to get traction, then NRA takes it national. To be effective, though it has to be organized. Another option would be a new organization to organize the boycotts.
Or, instead of paying yet a new group to figure out which companies must be targeted (and there would always have to be a target coming up to keep people’s attention, it would have to become meaningless), just do local grassroots efforts like spread the word in your gun club newsletter or let your gun owner buddies know what’s going on. Do something yourself and it will mean more and have a bigger impact.
Simply spread the news – it doesn’t have to be “organized.”
Local clubs are all very good when you are talking about a local business but for national problems and most of them are, you need a national effort. And there are lots of places, like big cities, who have lots of gun owners but limited penetration of local organization. Local or individual action is sort of the libertarian canon but I submit we cannot afford this when we are under attack from national or transnational organizations. The NRA does a pretty good job of fighting governmental depredations and is pretty cautious (many here have said too cautious) about not picking unwinnable fights. So why can they not do the same for corporate depredations. And why can they not have a on-line searchable data base that local organizations can use for their own efforts. And why cannot they use their political clout in state governments to strike back against hostile corporations. The Georgia action against Delta was apparently spontaneous but think what TX could do by prohibiting the use of state funds to purchase goods or services from hostile corporations. At the national level, Krogers is getting to be a problem. Sebastian argues above that RICO or anti-trust is probably not a viable strategy for dispersed industries and I agree. But you could really get their attention by devising a regulation taking them off the list of places where people can use food stamps. We are faced with a whole new spectrum of attacks from new enemies and we need to come up with new strategies.
Can’t argue. I just wish I knew what they were. More thinking needed.
Agree. The obvious thinkers are the ones we pay to do this-NRA, SAF etc. NRA this morning seemed to be waking up to the threat so perhaps we will see some action. Instapundit’s campaign to break up the tech giants could be a piece of this two as they are hostile. Especially since the prospect of a bootleggers/Baptist coalition with the Left exists on this one.
Just got off the phone with Adrian at Citibank. After 24 years they were concerned why I suddenly paid off my balance and was eager to close the account. The gent was aware of the current “debate” and let me know they are currently recording feedback.They tried a bit to keep me on but I was short with my responses.
I’m not shredding my card. I’m sending my cut card with a brief letter to Citibank.
Good riddance.
Amusingly, C (Citi’s stock ticker code) is down over 4% today, to the lowest it’s been all year.
If I was a slightly less honest man (because correlation ain’t causation, and the market moves for lots of hugely complex reasons) I’d say this was obviously caused by the market seeing the immediate repercussions of Everyone Who Likes Guns telling Citi to shove its business.
I have no dealings with Citi except for my rewards Master Card. I get 2% cashback on every dollar I spend, which pretty much means that they are getting nothing from merchant fees. I pay off my balance every month so they never get any interest from me. I’m going to start using the rewards to contribute to YouTube gun channel’s Patreon accounts.
Thats not how “cash back rewards” work, Mike.
The 2% you get is charged to the small business / mom-and-pop store at the end of the month. In other words, instead of the mom-and-pop paying 2.5% as a transaction fee, they are charged 4.5%
CITI makes money no matter what your “cash back” rate it….its simply passed to the business owner, who is not allowed to refuse the “cash back rewards” card.
Maybe I should only use it at Kroger then.
Amazon Chase Visa rewards card, used primarily at Amazon, eBay/PayPal, Costco gas stations, fucks em all?
They are still making money off you.
No, they are making money off Kroger. F– Kroger.
Kroger passes that on to you. That’s how this works. Kroger makes a profit. Citibank makes a profit. From the money you are giving them.
Kroger’s stance on all this is disappointing. They own Smith’s, which is a brand out west primarily. Smith’s has been a big supporter of the shooting sports out West. For example they provided hundreds of dollars of product (turkeys and all the trimmings) for a non-profit turkey shoot contest near me — they do that sort of thing multiple times per year. Smith’s is cool with open carry in the store.
We’ll see if Big Kroger’s decisions ripple down through the subsidiaries. Freddie Meyer’s decision to cut guns from the retail lineup indicate that maybe they do.
I wouldn’t mind seeing gun sales move to all cash. Is that really what Bloomberg’s lackeys want? Cause we can make that happen. CC fees (and rebates) really don’t benefit anyone but the banks.
Hello, civil asset forfeiture.
Ehh.. no?
Ehh… yes. Cash-only businesses seem to be prime targets for civil asset forfeiture aka “guilty until proven… fuck it, guilty”.
Wow. This action by Citibank fits perfectly with my definition of gun-control: the campaign by the Rich and the Powerful to disarm the Poor and the Powerless.
I think the date of this announcement is not coincidental. The anti-gunners must be expecting big things for Saturdays anti-gun “march for life”.
I intend to counter-demonstrate.
Just cancelled my Citibank Card…had it for decades, but I’m sick and tired of this kind of crap, and time to start talking with the wallet.
Citi was my first credit card too. Their 2% cashback card is where I charge EVERYTHING (except Amazon on the 5% Amazon Card, travel on the AMEX, and gas/groceries on the AMEX). We spent mid-five figures on Citi last year.
Today I notified them that we’ll be winding down our account. I have a ton of recurring charges that go to that card so it will take me a month or two to get them all changed over but once they’re changed the Citi card is gone. The cashback will go to a 2A non-profit.
The only way I’ll keep my account open is:
1) They rescind their policy in the next month (not likely) or
2) I take them up on a 0% APR balance transfer offer, and transfer all my spring/summer expenses to them to hold for a 0% loan for a year. No other charges and paid in full when its done. Then cards cancelled.
It looks like Fidelity has a 2% cash back card too. Assuming they don’t go full retard in the next few weeks and jump on the bandwagon that’s where we’ll probably move our business.
Thank you! I’m applying for that 2% back card today. Problem solved.
Yep, the only hassle is that they will put the 2% rewards into a Fidelity account. We didn’t have an account there so it took another 20 minutes to open a basic no-fee checking/”cash management” account.
Cancelled our accounts as well.
Gun owners are under attack from many different directions at this time. Some actions are more serious than others. This is one of them. Anti-gun groups will try to coerce or shame other banks to follow Citi’s lead.
The Obama administration attempted to use bank regulation to deny ‘unsavory, but legal’ businesses access to the credit system. Gun dealers were to be considered ‘unsavory.’ This move would’ve driven most independent FFLs out of business and would’ve killed the online business. This led to such an outcry that the government eventually backed off. It’s sad to see Citibank voluntarily do what the government attempted to coerce banks into doing.
It is against the law for banks to deny credit or credit processing services to individuals and businesses on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc. They can only deny service to those with bad credit history and for other sound business reasons. If anything gun shops should be better than average credit risks compared to similar small businesses since their inventory holds its value over time better than most products.
Here’s something to consider. The Supreme Court in has decided that ‘religion’ as mentioned in the constitution really means ‘belief systems.’ This was done in a case granting atheist groups the same tax benefits as established religions. The whole issue of ‘gun rights vs gun control’ is a clash of belief systems. By picking sides in this conflict Citibank can be seen as violating the 1sr Amendment.
“gun control/gun rights is really a religious debate”
While I don’t fundamentally disagree with this assessment, I’m not sure that it would bear beneficial fruit for us: The orgs on both sides are already non-taxable non-profit corporations, and the courts are already determined to treat gun rights differently from all other rights “because guns” so what do you really think that would do for us?“
cancelling later today.
I wonder if you could make the case this is a violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Section 241 – Conspiracy Against Rights
It would be such a conspiracy if the courts would finally admit that gun rights were actual rights with scope similar to other constitutionally-protected rights. Instead, the courts seem determined to see the right to keep and bear arms as a second (third?) class right that grants only notional protections.
On the Bloomberg ties from wikipedia:
In 2010, the company named Edward Skyler, formerly in New York City government and at Bloomberg LP, to its senior public and governmental relations position.[188] Before Skyler was named and before he began his job search, the company reportedly held discussions with three other individuals to fill the position: NY Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “political guru … [who] spearheaded … his short-lived flirtation with a presidential run …, who will soon leave City Hall for a position at the mayor’s company, Bloomberg L.P. …. After Mr. Bloomberg’s improbable victory in the 2001 mayor’s race, both Mr. Skyler and Mr. Sheekey followed him from his company to City Hall. Since then, they have been a part of an enormously influential coterie of advisers”; Howard Wolfson, the former communications director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and Mr. Bloomberg’s re-election bid; and Gary Ginsberg, now at Time Warner and formerly at News Corporation.[189]
I was listening to C Span and the had Shannon Watts a a few others They said they were pressuring the Investment funds like Blackrock, Vanguard to divest of gun manufacturing stocks This is very effective. They said they are persuading the fund managers that it would make good financial and social sense. As the Ace of Spades article said to change passive allies to active This is an example of that.
We need to do the same. Google just banned gun manufacturers videos from You tube.
How is Costco handling this? Citibank is the only credit card accept by Costco.
Costco is anti-gun. Check out the Erik Scott shooting at the Las Vegas Costco. Very sketchy situation. Conveniently missing store videos, among other problems. There may still be various lawsuits in process. Store personnel made a “man with a gun” call, that ended up with the cops essentially executing a medically retired West Point grad.
Meanwhile.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-citigroup/citigroup-targets-belt-and-road-to-boost-china-revenue-idUSKCN1BX0XH
Cancelled my CitiCards Mastercard on Friday. The rep acted so concerned about why I wanted to cancel. I told her I don’t support any company that discriminates against 18- 20-year-old Americans. I further explained that any company that intends to subvert any part of the Bill of Rights doesn’t deserve to do business in America. Cut up the cards and burned ’em in a bonfire at the Big Sandy machine gun shoot this weekend.
Did the same! They heard it shred. I was with them 22 years.
Hope one of you two are still reading the thread. Any activism tips on how to send a message to the head office?
I’m trying to organize a group of wells fargo customers to say “thanks for your policies, but don’t even think about copying citi”.
Would letters be the best option? I doubt individuals would have an easy time getting in touch by phone.
Yes. Still following (I get e-mailed for new comments).
To Wells Fargo’s head office? I am a Wells Fargo customer. I hadn’t through to do that, but it’s not a bad idea.
They’re under a tremendous amount of pressure at the moment, from the usual suspects. They also allow cryptocurrency purchases, so the media has a lot of fronts to hit them on next fake-news cycle.
Figure getting a finger in the dike early might help, instead of just reacting passively.
Just closed my Citi card this morning. I will no longer deal with them. Good move Edward. I had dealt with Citi for 10+ years.