The Next Choke Point: What Every Business Needs to Know about Financial Surveillance

The Next Choke Point

What Every Business Needs to Know About Financial Surveillance

This article originally ran on Sara A. Carter’s website. You can read the full article here.

At Revere Payments, we believe freedom must be defended—not just in speech and policy, but in the systems that power our daily lives. That includes our financial system. A dangerous new wave of financial surveillance is quietly taking shape across the country—and it’s already law in New York.

What’s Happening

Financial institutions are being compelled to report the lawful purchases of Americans based on Merchant Category Codes (MCCs)—particularly in industries like firearms, faith-based services, and constitutionally protected commerce. These codes, originally meant to categorize businesses for billing and analytics, are now being used as data triggers for surveillance.

New York State has gone even further: effective December 2024, banks are required by law to monitor and report “patterns” of lawful firearm purchases to the state.

This isn’t about crime. It’s about control.

consumer at risk of financial surveillance purchasing a hish-risk item — A saleswoman shows weapons to a buyer at her gun booth at the Expo Gun Show in Tucson, Arizona, on October 27, 2024. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Harris wants to confiscate Americans' guns in violation of the US constitution's Second Amendment -- including in their only televised debate last month. Harris fiercely rejected that charge, noting that she and her running mate, Tim Walz, are both gun owners. (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP) (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)

Why This Matters to Merchants

Whether you’re in the firearms industry, run a conservative nonprofit, offer Christian counseling, or operate any business the state deems “risky”—you could be flagged. And you may never know it.

This isn’t a theory. It’s a real shift in compliance frameworks that positions banks as data-gatherers for state intelligence, not just financial service providers.

The Risk for Businesses

De-banking without warning: We’ve seen clients shut down or denied access to financial services without a clear explanation.
Surveillance without consent: Your transactions may be watched—and used—without your knowledge.
Targeting by association: Simply being connected to a cause or customer that regulators don’t like could trigger a review.

What Revere is Doing About It

At Revere Payments, we’re not just aware of this trend—we were founded in response to it. We built an ecosystem that puts freedom first and protects businesses from financial discrimination.

We offer transparent, secure processing across high-risk and constitutionally protected industries.
We don’t quietly blacklist our merchants—we fight for them.
We stay informed on the laws that threaten your business model, and we speak up.

You Don’t Have to Fight This Alone

This new version of “Operation Chokepoint” may be quieter, but it’s more sophisticated—and more dangerous. But your business doesn’t have to stand defenseless.

If you’re concerned about your industry being targeted, or if your business has already been affected by financial surveillance, we’re here to help.

Revere exists to keep you processing, growing, and free.