Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC Chairman raises debanking concerns with PayPal, Stripe, Mastercard, Visa, (Mar 27, 2026)

By Jonathan Anderson

The warnings, which threatened investigations and enforcement actions, follow a 2025 executive order from President Trump.

On Mar. 26, 2026, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to four financial services companies regarding the issue of debanking. Ferguson notified PayPal Holdings, Inc., Stripe, Inc., Mastercard Inc., and Visa Inc. that the agency may investigate or bring an enforcement action for violations of the FTC Act if the companies “refuse, suspend, or withdraw any service to prospective or existing clients and consumers that is inconsistent” with their terms of service or otherwise unfair.

Debanking concerns. In the letters to PayPal and Stripe, Ferguson asserted that “concerns have been raised” about how the companies treat customers, in particular “efforts to deny them access to services due to their political or religious views.” These concerns, Ferguson wrote, “raise serious questions” about whether the companies are acting in accordance with their terms of service. The letters to Mastercard and Visa referenced more general “publicly-reported examples of financial institutions denying their customers access to services due to their political or religious views.”

The letters cited Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices. “Companies that deplatform consumers or deny them access to financial products or services may violate the FTC Act if their actions are contrary to consumers’ reasonable expectations or if their practices cause substantial injury not reasonably avoidable by consumers and not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition,” Ferguson wrote.

Trump executive order. The letters cited an executive order by President Donald Trump (Exec. Order 14331, 90 Fed. Reg. 38925) asserting authority to establish the policy that “no American should be denied access to financial services because of their constitutionally or statutorily protected beliefs, affiliations, or political views, and to ensure that politicized or unlawful debanking is not used as a tool to inhibit such beliefs, affiliations, or political views.”

Investigations and enforcement actions. Ferguson concluded the letters by writing that he was informing each of the companies of their obligations under the FTC Act. “Any act or practice by PayPal to refuse, suspend, or withdraw any service to prospective or existing clients and consumers that is inconsistent with your terms of service or otherwise unfair may violate the FTC Act and could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action,” the letter to PayPal read.

Companies: Mastercard Inc.; PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Stripe, Inc.; Visa Inc.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews