The Federal Trade Commission has warned Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, and Stripe against denying financial services based on political or religious views. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson sent letters to the CEOs of these payment processors citing President Trump's August executive order on 'debanking' that prohibits cutting off law-abiding citizens for their political affiliations or religious beliefs.

The letters warn that deplatforming customers or denying access to services inconsistent with terms of service could trigger FTC investigations and enforcement actions under the FTC Act. Ferguson emphasized that 'full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system.'

In letters to Stripe and PayPal, Ferguson specifically cited concerns about efforts to deny customers services due to political or religious views. He pointed to Stripe's decision to stop processing payments for Trump's campaign website after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, which Stripe said violated policies against encouraging violence.