FTC Issues Warnings to Payment Processors Against 'Debanking' — 2nd Update

By Elias Schisgall

The Federal Trade Commission warned four leading payment processors against denying customers access to financial services due to their political or religious views.

The letters, sent by FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson to the chief executives of Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and Stripe, cited President Trump's August executive order on "debanking," which Ferguson said "makes clear that it is unacceptable to debank law-abiding citizens due to 'political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.'"

Ferguson wrote that deplatforming of customers or denial of access to services "that is inconsistent with their terms of service or a customer's reasonable expectations" could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement actions for violations of the FTC Act.

"Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system," he wrote.

In the letters to Stripe and PayPal, Ferguson added that concerns have been raised about the two companies' "efforts to deny [customers] access to services due to their political or religious views," adding that such conduct may not be in accordance with the companies' terms of service.

Among other examples, he cited Stripe's decision to stop processing payments for Trump's campaign website following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Stripe cut off the campaign account for violating policies against encouraging violence, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time, citing people familiar with the matter.

A PayPal spokesperson declined to comment. Representatives for Stripe, Mastercard, and Visa didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump has sought to pressure banks over allegations that they denied services to conservatives or religious customers during his second term. His executive order in August directed regulators to investigate debanking on political or religious grounds and threatened fines for financial institutions found to have done so.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a top banking regulator, said in December that it had found early evidence that several leading U.S. banks had improperly declined to do business with politically sensitive industries.

Trump also sued JPMorgan Chase for $5 billion earlier this year, alleging that the bank closed Trump's accounts for political reasons following the Capitol riot.

JPMorgan has said it doesn't discriminate based on politics and supports regulatory changes around banks firing clients. It said Trump's suit has no merit and that the bank will defend itself in court.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2026 15:18 ET (19:18 GMT)