The National Association of Convenience Stores and several retail and tobacco trade associations urged Global Payments and Mastercard to revise policies that penalize retailers for selling certain electronic nicotine delivery system products, according to CSP. In letters to the companies, the groups argued the payment processors’ enforcement standards do not reflect the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s updated enforcement priorities, which allow enforcement discretion for certain products with pending premarket tobacco product applications.
The letters, also signed by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Energy Marketers of America, and the Convenience Distribution Association, expressed support for removing illicit vaping products from the market but said responsible retailers should not face penalties that exceed current FDA policy. The request follows updated FDA guidance issued in May and comes after a coalition of state attorneys general urged major payment networks to take action against merchants selling unauthorized vaping products.
