Visa, Payment Firms Warned by Regulator on Debanking Concern (2)

Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc. and Stripe Inc. received letters from a Washington antitrust regulator warning the firms not to deny customers access to services based on their political or religious views.

US Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson sent the letters to the payment companies’ chief executive officers, citing reports that some customers had been blocked based on their beliefs, according to a statement Thursday.

“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, ...