UK regulator confirms FCA probes into Mastercard, Visa and PayPal over digital wallet funding

The UK Financial Conduct Authority on Tuesday publicly confirmed antitrust investigations into Mastercard, Visa and PayPal over suspected anti-competitive conduct tied to how PayPal’s digital wallet is funded and used, while stressing that it has not reached any conclusions or found any breach of competition law.

In a press release published May 6, the FCA, the UK financial regulator, said: “Following the publication of financial reporting by PayPal Holdings Inc, we can confirm we are investigating Mastercard, PayPal and Visa under Chapter I in the Competition Act 1998, and Mastercard and Visa under Chapter II in the Competition Act 1998, for suspected anti-competitive conduct linked to the funding and usage of PayPal’s digital wallet.”

That means the FCA is investigating all three companies under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998, while Mastercard and Visa are also being investigated under Chapter II. The regulator’s public confirmation came after PayPal disclosed the probes in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing a day earlier.

In its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, filed May 5 and signed the same day, PayPal Holdings Inc. said: “In March 2026, we received notices of investigations and related requests for information from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) under the Competition Act 1998 regarding certain provisions in PayPal’s contractual agreements with Visa and Mastercard relating to funding and use of the PayPal digital wallet. We are cooperating with the FCA in connection with these investigations.”

Chapter I of the Competition Act covers anti-competitive agreements or coordinated practices between companies. Chapter II covers abuse of a dominant market position. The FCA’s statements indicate this is an early-stage competition investigation, not an enforcement finding.

The regulator emphasized that point directly. “The FCA has reached no conclusions nor made any findings with regard to competition law having been broken,” it said.

The FCA also said the case remains at the evidence-gathering stage. “The FCA is currently gathering evidence. The FCA may proceed to issue a statement of objections setting out its provisional view that there has been an infringement of the law. Not all cases result in the FCA issuing a statement of objections.”

A statement of objections is a formal step in UK competition cases that sets out a provisional view, rather than a final decision. By saying not all cases reach that stage, the FCA signaled that the investigation could still end without such a notice.

The FCA said its Competition Act procedures are separate from its enforcement processes under the Financial Services and Markets Act. It also noted that Competition Act cases may be brought by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, the country’s main antitrust regulator.

For now, the key point is that the FCA has formally confirmed the scope of the investigations described by PayPal, and that the regulator says it is still gathering evidence. The agency has not concluded that competition law was broken.