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Federal Review Finds JPMorgan Unit Screened For 'MAGA,' Religious Terms
JPMorgan Chase payment subsidiary WePay blocked accounts selling Trump merchandise and religious groups in 2021, as CFPB opens debanking probe.
In brief
JPMorgan Chase payment subsidiary WePay blocked accounts selling Trump merchandise and religious groups in 2021, as CFPB opens debanking probe. JPMorgan's WePay closed accounts for Trump merchandise and religious groups in 2021 after screening for 'MAGA' terms, prompting CFPB to investigate banks for potential…
Federal Review Finds JPMorgan Unit Screened For 'MAGA,' Religious Terms
A new federal review turned years of political debanking allegations into documented findings, including evidence that a JPMorgan Chase payment subsidiary screened merchants for terms such as 'MAGA,' 'Make America Great' and 'America First' before…
“The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released its 47-page report on October 14 after examining the nine largest national banks under its supervision.”
OCC Examines 9 Banks
The OCC reviewed nearly 100,000 complaints, hundreds of individual bank decisions and about 420,000 pages of bank documents covering 2020 through September 2025.
Banks Under Review
The banks were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank and BMO Bank.
CFPB Opens Debanking Probe
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on October 14 that it will investigate whether the institutions named by the OCC, and potentially others, violated federal consumer financial laws.
WePay Screened For Political Terms
The OCC found that WePay used an internal system to screen terms against merchant customer profiles, websites and transaction-level information, including 'MAGA,' 'Make America Great' and 'America First.'
WePay Closed Trump Merchandise Account
WePay closed the account of a merchant selling Trump and MAGA merchandise in February 2021 after determining that the merchandise promoted hate, violence or racial intolerance.
WePay Closed Conservative Merchandise Account
In September 2021, WePay closed another merchant account that sold 'conservative/republican t-shirts, hats, etc.' including a 'Trump-Won' flag and a 'Biden-Illegitimate' T-shirt.
WePay Closed Religious Organization Account
In June 2021, WePay closed an account belonging to a nonprofit that employees internally described as a right-wing religious conservative organization.
WePay Closed Christian Account
A month later, WePay closed an account that raised money for a legal challenge brought by a person the report described as a 'devout Christian.'
The headline
JPMorgan's WePay closed accounts for Trump merchandise and religious groups in 2021 after screening for 'MAGA' terms, prompting CFPB to investigate banks for potential consumer law violations.
