Justice Department Complaint Alleges Visa Imposed Anticompetitive Pricing Structure
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Visa Inc. for illegally monopolizing the debit card market in the Biden administration’s first major antitrust case in the financial industry.
According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Visa, which handles more than 60% of debit transactions in the US, entered into a series of agreements that penalized merchants who sought to use alternatives and paid potential rivals so that they would not enter the market.
Visa charges around US$7 billion in annual fees for debit and “card not present” transactions.
The complaint alleges that Visa imposed an anticompetitive pricing structure that forced merchants to conduct all debit transactions through its network or face severe penalties. The department also alleges that Visa began requiring agreements with onerous terms.
