FTC warns PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and Stripe against debanking after Trump’s executive order

The US Federal Trade Commission has warned top payment companies to abide by President Donald Trump’s debanking executive order.

FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson told the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard that the payment giants should not refuse customers services following reports that some people had been blocked based on their political or religious beliefs.

“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 wrote.

Trump and his sons have decried debanking practices, claiming unfair banking practices forced them into crypto.

The president in January sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, for allegedly debanking him. The bank has denied the allegations.

In a Thursday statement, Ferguson said that any debanking practices may lead to investigations and enforcement action from the regulator.

He added that the FTC in recent years had already taken action against payment infrastructure firms for “unfair or deceptive practices.”

Trump last year claimed that JPMorgan Chase cut him off as a customer before Bank of America also denied him services. The president’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., have also repeatedly bemoaned unfair banking practices.

The Trump family-backed crypto company World Liberty Financial claims it will “unlock financial access for all by replacing the limits of traditional banking.”

Under the new president’s administration, regulators have taken a far more friendly approach to watchdogging the crypto space.

World Liberty Financial has applied for a banking licence earlier in a bid to get its stablecoin used by institutions and retail investors.

PayPal, Stripe, Visa and Mastercard all have big crypto ambitions. Each of the giants warned by the FTC has debuted a blockchain or accelerated stablecoin ambitions since Trump took to the White House.

None of the payments companies mentioned by the FTC immediately returned requests for comment.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.