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ARTICLE · 06 APRIL 2026

FTC Issues "Debanking" Warning Letters To Payment Industry

Holland & Knight
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Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson on March 26, 2026, issued warning letters to four major nonbank financial infrastructure platforms and payment...

United StatesFinance and Banking
Christopher Phillips
Christopher Phillips
Peter Hardy
Peter Hardy
Madeline Schonberger
Madeline Schonberger
Siana Danch
Siana Danch
Anthony E. DiResta
Anthony E. DiResta
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Highlights

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson on March 26, 2026, issued warning letters to four major nonbank financial infrastructure platforms and payment providers, cautioning that denying consumers access to payment services based on political or religious views may violate the prohibition against unfair or deceptive acts or practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
  • The warning letters represent a meaningful expansion of the government's current anti-debanking posture beyond prudential bank regulators to the broader financial infrastructure and payment processing ecosystem. This expansion is consistent with an August 2025 executive order that prohibits "politicized or unlawful debanking."

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