The Fourth Appellate District affirmed a judgment. The court held that credit card issuers that required a Social Security number from U.S. nationals but only alternative forms of identification from foreign nationals to open accounts did not discriminate against U.S. citizens in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Bank of America N.A., Mexicana Airlines, and Visa International Service Association (collectively, Bank of America) required customers of U.S. national origin and/or ancestry to produce Social Security numbers (SSNs) when they applied for credit cards. However, Bank of America reportedly allowed foreign nationals to open such accounts with alternative forms of identification.
