FTC Warns Payment Processors Against 'Debanking'
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.
Representatives for the four companies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 26, 2026 13:09 ET (17:09 GMT)
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