FTC Chairman Warns PayPal and Others to Comply with Customer Obligations
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters on Thursday to four major financial infrastructure platforms and payment providers reminding them of their obligations to their customers under the FTC Act. The letters issued to the CEOs of PayPal (PYPL), Stripe, Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) raise concerns about publicly reported examples of 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," Chairman Ferguson wrote. The letters warn the companies that any act or practice to deplatform customers or deny them access to financial products or services, or to facilitate such conduct by other companies, that is inconsistent with their terms of service or a customer's reasonable expectations may violate the FTC Act and could lead to an FTC investigation and potential enforcement action.
