The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters to the leaders of four major financial infrastructure platforms and payment providers about their obligations to their customers under the FTC Act.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent letters to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard raising concerns about 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,” Ferguson wrote in the letter. “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. That is why President Trump’s Aug. 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 may violate the FTC Act and could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action.
In recent years, the FTC 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.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers.