JPMorgan Chase bank has apparently rolled back a policy that led to the de-banking of several conservatives and nonprofit groups, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
Fox News reported on Friday that the bank had rolled back its WePay service, and the Christian law firm is praising the move.
The service “required merchants to refrain from accepting payments or using the service for activities related to ‘social risk issues,’ which the bank defined as anything ‘subject to allegation and impacts related to hate groups, systemic racism, sexual harassment and corporate culture,'” the outlet said.
In May 2019, JPMorgan Chase Chief Jamie Dimon denied claims the bank had de-banked conservatives over their political views, stating, “We have not and do not,” according to Breitbart News.
However, in March 2023, 14 state financial officers issued a letter to Dimon demanding the bank stop what seemed to be “politically motivated” de-banking that targeted certain industries, people, and groups, the outlet reported at the time.
The letter stated, in part:
The bank’s apparent move to discriminate against politically disfavored industries is spilling over into its other activities. Recently, Chase closed the National Committee for Religious Freedom’s (NCRF) account without explanation. After repeated requests to reinstate the account, Chase informed NCRF that it would only consider doing so if the non-profit agreed to disclose detailed information about its donors and the criteria used to decide which political candidates it supports.
This is not the first time Chase has engaged in questionable incidents of de-banking. In 2021, WePay, a subsidiary of Chase, denied ticket payment processing services for a mainstream [R]epublican event hosted by the non-profit, Defense of Liberty. As justification, WePay cited a policy that barred payment processing services in connection with “hate . . . racial intolerance . . . or items or activities that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others regarding the same.” Such vague and ambiguous terms can easily be used to hide viewpoint-based discrimination.
In a statement on Tuesday, ADF announced the results of its Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index and said Chase, despite its progress, still had work to do after scoring nine percent out of a possible 100 percent.
“Threats to freedom don’t just come from Big Government, but Big Banking and Big Tech that have concentrated power over essential services,” ADF Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President for Corporate Engagement Jeremy Tedesco commented.
He added, “We commend Chase for these initial, positive steps. But it needs to do more.”
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