US regulator warns Visa, Mastercard, PayPal against denying services based on political or religious views

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe telling the companies not to deny customers access to their services based on political or religious views.

Andrew N. Ferguson, FTC chairman sent the letters to the chief executives of the four firms on Thursday.

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The letters warn the companies about the practice known as debanking, in which firms cut off payment or financial services to law-abiding customers because of their political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities linked to those beliefs.

The action follows a 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump. The order, issued on Aug. 7, 2025, and titled “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans,” directed regulators to address debanking based on political affiliations, religious beliefs or lawful business activities.

The FTC letters remind the companies of their obligations under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bans unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

They note that denying services in ways that go against the firms’ own terms or customers’ reasonable expectations could lead to investigations and enforcement.

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

Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe dominate much of the U.S. payments market. The companies have faced past criticism for closing accounts or restricting services in some cases, often citing internal policies on risk or compliance.

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The FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment beyond the public release of the letters.

The four companies also had no immediate comment.

The move is the latest step by the FTC under Ferguson to address what the agency calls viewpoint discrimination in financial services.