PayPal reported spending $606,000 on federal lobbying during the third quarter of 2026, with marijuana banking reform and the SAFE Banking Act among the issues it pursued, according to a new disclosure filed with Congress on October 19.
The filing identifies the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and Treasury Department as the federal institutions involved in PayPal’s banking-related lobbying activities. Under the banking issue category, the company specifically lists “Issues related to cannabis banking, SAFE Banking Act,” alongside matters involving digital currencies, consumer credit, money transmission and financial regulations.
PayPal’s $606,000 in total lobbying expenditures represents an increase of approximately 6.3% compared to the $570,000 it reported during the third quarter of 2025. The latest amount is slightly below the $611,000 reported during the second quarter of 2026.
For the first nine months of 2026, PayPal reported approximately $1.79 million in federal lobbying expenditures, compared to $1.56 million during the same period in 2025. That represents an increase of about 14%.
The disclosure does not specify how much of the company’s spending went toward marijuana banking reform rather than other legislative and regulatory priorities.
The SAFE Banking Act would establish federal protections for financial institutions providing services to state-legal marijuana businesses, addressing longstanding concerns about access to banking and payment processing services within the industry.
Beyond marijuana banking, PayPal’s third-quarter disclosure identifies lobbying on cryptocurrency regulation, small business lending, artificial intelligence, consumer financial protections, taxation and trade policy.
Five individuals are identified as lobbying on the company’s banking-related priorities during the quarter: Philip Swartzfager, Amy Kim, Andrew Halataei, Galen Roehl and Emily Hickman. The disclosure was electronically signed by Swartzfager on October 19.
