What is the ‘Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC)’
The crux of the story revolves around a shadowy nonprofit organization called Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC), set up by Arizona’s attorney general’s office back in 2014. TRAC was formed following a settlement between Western Union and Arizona over cross border drug trafficking from Mexico. Though originally funded through funds from that settlement, those have reportedly already dried up and it’s unclear where the organization’s current funding comes from.
Experts speaking with The Journal said they believed TRAC had expanded far beyond its original mandate.
“It was never the intent of the parties I worked with to summarily allow for the sharing of personal financial data of individuals with law enforcement,” Oscar Herasme, a lawyer who helped establish TRAC back in 2008 said. “Wholesale access to customer data…runs counter to the expectation of privacy afforded to financial service consumers.”
