When rioters attacked the Capitol, these payment companies were quick to respond

January 15, 2021 10:22 AM

The recent attack on the U.S. Capitol building shed light on how much power payment companies have to enable or stifle political violence.

The incident and response comes at a hectic time, as the House finalizes its second impeachment of President Donald Trump, while President-elect Joe Biden seeks bipartisan favor for a proposed coronavirus stimulus package that includes more economic aid, government support and direct payments to Americans.

Numerous organizations were forced to account for how the attack happened, and how to prevent additional violence given intelligence warnings of a larger insurrection. The Jan. 6 mob represented an alarming cross-section of society, including an Olympian, law enforcement agents, florists, army veterans, lawyers and others. Firms were forced to fire corporate officers, while football coach Bill Belichick refused to accept the Medal of Freedom from President Trump, whose name was emblazoned on rioters' flags.

Financial services firms can enable or block activities as mundane as paying for transportation and lodging, as well as for more blatantly political operations.

These companies' moves may have been overshadowed by the House impeachment proceedings, but with the Senate not planning to continue those proceedings during Trump's term, these actions represent some of the most immediate consequences of the rioting at the Capitol building.

PayPal

Bloomberg

PayPal's popularity as a digital funds transfer service, combined with its reputation for enabling smaller organizations to accept payments, forces the company to regularly weigh which entities it accepts as customers.

Shortly after the Capitol attack, PayPal cut off several organizations that fund travel and other expenses for those traveling to Washington to participate in the unrest, including a group called Joy in Liberty. PayPal additionally blocked GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site that raised money for people who attended the event in Washington. GiveSendGo has hosted fundraisers for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, and the Proud Boys, a far-right neofacist organization.

PayPal has a long history of banning transactions to controversial organizations, several hate groups linked to violence in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017.

Venmo

Bloomberg

Shortly after the attack, PayPal and its Venmo subsidiary banned Ali Alexander, one of the organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C.

Both PayPal and Venmo said the bans were a result of violations of their apps' acceptable use policy. Twitter also banned Alexander, who posted a video during the attack saying he "didn't disavow" what was happening.

The recent Capitol attack was also not the first time Venmo acted to halt payments related to a right-wing figure. Both PayPal and Venmo in 2018 banned Milo Yiannopoulos, a Brietbart editor, for distributing anti-Semitic content.

Stripe

Stripe performed a service for Trump that's similar to that of thousands of other businesses globally — it provided a means for Trump to sell merchandise online.

Stripe halted the Trump campaign's account shortly after the attack, making it harder for Trump's online stores to sell MAGA- and Trump-related merchandise.

The payment company requires its users to refuse transactions for high-risk or unlawful actions such as promoting violence.

Stripe in 2018 suspended right-wing social media site Gab in the wake of a mass shooting at the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh. The gunman, Robert Bowers, posted anti-Semitic messages on Gab.

Shopify

Bloomberg

Like Stripe, Shopify removed two Trump-related merchandise stores, saying the stores violated policies against promoting violence.

The Candian e-commerce platform provides a menu of digital merchant services, technology and provides a network of buyers for sellers.

Shopify had traditionally refrained from political involvement out of censorship concerns, but that stance has changed in recent years, according to TechCrunch.

The company banned shops tied to the Proud Boys in 2018, and also made donations to civil rights organizations.

GoFundMe

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GoFundMe's response was a bit broader, and also included a campaign to raise funds for a victim of the rioters.

The crowdfunding platform will ban fundraising for travel expenses to political rallies where there is a potential for violence, creating a general policy out of a specific event. It can also serve as a way to ferret out campaigns tied to future violence.

GoFundMe will additionally remove fundraisers that are tied to misinformation about the 2020 election and conspiracy theories, as well as those that have a likelihood of leading to attacks on U.S. democracy. Much of the momentum for the incident came from months of inaccurate claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.

The company also hosted a fundraiser for Brian D. Sicknick's family. Sicknick was a U.S. Capitol police officer who died in the attack.

Visa, Mastercard and American Express

Bloomberg

The major card networks have adjusted or halted their own political activity, which typically occurs through political action committees.

Visa's political action committee temporarily suspended all political donations, and the card brand will review its guidelines for future contributions, according to Reuters. Mastercard and American Express have halted donations to political leaders who participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to The Hill. During the 2020 election cycle, Mastercard-affiliated donations slightly favored Democrats while Visa's donations narrowly favored Republicans.

These moves are similar to moves from major banks and trade groups such as the Consumer Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association, which halted political donations. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase also temporarily suspended political donation, as have Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

Apple and Google

Bloomberg

Apple and Google removed right-wing social media site Parler from their respective app stores, making it harder for Parler to register users and build a database of credentials for potential monetization, fundraising or cross-selling. Both technology companies based their bans on the use of the platform as a venue to threaten violence.

Parler has become popular as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook, particularly as right-wing users contend Twitter and Facebook are part of a "big tech" bias in favor of liberals.

Parler suffered an additional setback when Amazon Web Services discontinued hosting Parler, after Amazon reported it found more than 100 violent threats on the platform.

Walmart and Amazon

Bloomberg

Beyond AWS' move against Parler, Amazon has additionally halted donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying the Electoral College results.

Amazon has traditionally donated to candidates of both parties, and will contact the members impacted by its ban. It will reevaluate its future donations based on what it hears from the members.

Walmart has made a similar move, halting donations to elected officials who sought to reject the result of the election.

Jack Dorsey

Bloomberg

Dorsey is the CEO of both Twitter and Square, and took to Twitter to simultaneously explain Twitter's ban of Trump while endorsing bitcoin, which is a big part of Square's strategy.

In one of the more dramatic moves following the Jan 6. attack, Twitter cut off Trump, who sent thousands of Tweets during the past four years that were in many ways a chronicle of his presidency.

The Twitter suspension itself set off a round of controversy, with conservative commentators claiming Trump is being denied "free speech." (The First Amendment doesn't guarantee access to social media platforms.)

In a series of Tweets on Wednesday, Dorsey explained the rationale behind the Twitter ban and rhetoric that contributes to violence, then said he's passionate about bitcoin because it's not controlled by a single entity.

Square has offered cryptocurrency trading for about three years, and also hired a team to work on use cases for bitcoin. Crypto has been a boon for Square, driving the company's recent growth.

Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok

Bloomberg

Twitter of course wasn't alone among social media sites. Numerous other sites including Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit and YouTube took action against Trump over the past week. In an odd twist, TikTok banned Trump, who has spent much of the fall pushing a ban on TikTok.

These moves don't directly impact transaction flows, but could indirectly affect the ability of groups affiliated with pro-Trump movements to organize and communicate.

Facebook has several projects that have ties to transaction and advertising revenue, and it's often the subject of regulatory pressure — so any overt entry into politics creates potential complications. TikTok has emerged as a popular way for Walmart and other retailers to enhance their e-commerce operations.