Last week the Christian Broadcasting Network reported how banks in America have been weaponized against conservative organizations. This is especially true of Christian groups that have been “de-banked” by JPMorgan Chase and others.
The CBN story — which you can watch above or read here — cites Family Council among the groups who have had their bank accounts closed.
At 10:29 AM on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, our office received a terse email from our credit card processor — a company owned by JPMorgan Chase — saying, “Unfortunately, we can no longer support your business. We wish you all the luck in the future, and hope that you find a processor that better fits your payment processing needs.”
Within sixty seconds, our account was terminated and and Family Council could no longer accept donations online.
Just like the CBN story highlights, eventually we learned the company had designated Family Council as “High Risk.” According to their Terms of Service, High Risk companies include:
- Astrology and psychic services
- Career placement services
- Cyberlockers and file sharing or storage services
- Companies that conduct research or testing on animals
- Companies known to have issues with labor or working conditions
- Companies involved in land acquisition and involuntary resettlement
- Companies who have been subject to allegations related to human rights violations
- Pawn shops
- Private prison operators
The list goes on, but it’s unclear how what prompted the bank to decide Family Council fit under the “High Risk” category. All we can do is speculate that our conservative principles and our public policy work might have had something to do with the decision.
However, the Terms of Service also let the banking service terminate our account at any time for any reason or no reason at all. Apparently that’s what they decided to do with us.
It’s frustrating that one of the largest banks in the nation would treat its customers so unfairly and unprofessionally. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior may be more common than many people realize.
