FTC Chairman warns PayPal, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard CEOs on debanking

FTC Press Releases

Published March 1st, 2026

Detected March 28th, 2026

Summary

The FTC issued warning letters to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard regarding concerns about 'debanking' customers based on political or religious views. The letters remind companies of their obligations under the FTC Act and warn of potential investigations and enforcement actions for practices inconsistent with terms of service or customer expectations.

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What changed

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued warning letters to the CEOs of major payment providers PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard. These letters express concern over reported instances of these companies denying customers access to financial services based on their political or religious beliefs, a practice referred to as 'debanking.' The FTC Chairman emphasized that such actions could violate the FTC Act, particularly if they are inconsistent with the companies' terms of service or a customer's reasonable expectations, and highlighted that this aligns with President Trump's Executive Order on debanking.

Companies receiving these letters are put on notice that engaging in or facilitating such deplatforming or denial of services may lead to FTC investigations and potential enforcement actions. The FTC's action signals a heightened scrutiny of financial service providers' customer access policies, particularly concerning political or religious viewpoints. Compliance officers should review their firms' customer onboarding, deplatforming, and service denial policies to ensure they are consistent with stated terms of service and do not discriminate based on protected characteristics or lawful business activities, as outlined in the FTC Act and relevant executive orders.

What to do next

Review customer deplatforming and service denial policies for consistency with terms of service and FTC Act requirements.
Assess practices related to denying access to financial products or services based on political or religious views.
Ensure compliance with stated terms of service and customer expectations regarding account access.

Penalties

Potential FTC investigation and enforcement action.

Source document (simplified)

Tags:

Consumer Protection
Commissioners
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Credit and Finance Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters today to four major financial infrastructure platforms and payment providers reminding them of their obligations to their customers under the FTC Act.

The letters issued to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard raise concerns about publicly reported examples of financial services companies denying their customers access to services due to their political or religious views.

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

“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,” he continued. “That is why President Trump’s August 7, 2025, Executive Order on debanking makes clear that it is unacceptable to debank law-abiding citizens due to ‘political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.’”

The letters warn the companies that any act or practice to deplatform customers or deny them access to financial products or services, or to facilitate such conduct by other companies, that is inconsistent with their terms of service or a customer’s reasonable expectations may violate the FTC Act and could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action.

The FTC in recent years has brought numerous enforcement actions against payment infrastructure platforms and related entities for unfair or deceptive practices, including misleading merchants about fees and contract terms and facilitating fraud on consumers, including through the means of card networks.

View all FTC warning letters at ftc.gov/warning-letters.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.