Overview
- The Justice Department, which announced the settlement Tuesday, said PayPal will replace race-based criteria with a race-neutral Small Business Initiative.
- PayPal will waive processing fees on $1 billion in transactions, worth about $30 million, for veteran-owned firms or small businesses in farming, manufacturing, or technology.
- The agreement requires PayPal to name a program director, assess small-business needs, train employees on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and submit annual reports.
- Investigators examined PayPal’s 2020 Economic Opportunity Fund, which favored Black and minority-owned firms, and said it was not designed to remedy specific past discrimination.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon framed the action as enforcing laws against race or national-origin bias, while ABC News reported the deal includes no admission of wrongdoing by PayPal.