FTC Warns PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard Against ‘Debanking’ Over Political, Religious Views

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Andrew Ferguson, is warning four major payment processors about “debanking” customers over their political or religious views.Andrew Ferguson sent letters to the chief executive officers of PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard on Thursday raising concerns about publicly reported examples of financial services companies denying access.“Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system,” Mr. Ferguson said.“It is inconsistent with American values to deny law-abiding individuals the ability to run their legitimate businesses and feed their families because they attracted the ire of rogue American officials, overzealous activists, or, more worryingly, foreign governments seeking to control public discourse,” Mr. Ferguson continued.Mr. Ferguson told all of the companies they could face an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action for any violations.The letter to Stripe cited a Wall Street Journal report that Stripe stopped processing payments for President Trump’s campaign website after the Capital riot on January 6, 2021.Mr. Trump has previously complained of being a personal victim of debanking. Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive officer, Jamie Dimon, for $5 billion in January, alleging that the bank closed his accounts.Mr. Trump signed an executive order in August saying it was unacceptable to debank law-abiding citizens due to “political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.”Other conservatives have also claimed to be victims of debanking. Last year, the Senate Banking Committee issued a report finding debanking was a “serious problem” affecting thousands of consumers.The FTC has brought numerous enforcement actions against payment infrastructure platforms for alleged unfair or deceptive practices.Requests for comments from the four companies were not immediately returned.

FTC Warns PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard Against ‘Debanking’ Over Political, Religious Views

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