US sues Visa over debit card monopoly that affects “prices of almost everything” | Business

The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Visa, accusing one of the world's largest payment networks of antitrust violations that affect “the price of almost everything.”

The financial giant suppressed competition by threatening traders with high fees and bribing potential competitors, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit alleges that Visa makes it difficult for merchants to use alternatives, such as cheaper or smaller payment processors, instead of its own payment processing technology without facing what prosecutors call “disloyalty penalties.”

Visa's extensive financial network processed approximately $3.3 trillion in transactions last quarter.

The company processes more than 60 percent of all debit transactions in the U.S., collecting $7 billion in fees each year when transactions pass through its network, the Justice Department said. The company protects its dominant position through agreements with card issuers, merchants and competitors, prosecutors allege.

The effort to combat such fees, also known as swipe fees or interchange fees, is part of the Biden administration's efforts to combat rising consumer prices, which were a central issue in the presidential campaign.

“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to charge fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Merchants and banks pass these costs on to consumers, either by raising prices or by degrading quality or service.”

“As a result, Visa's unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of almost everything.”

Visa called the lawsuit “meritless” and said it would defend itself “vigorously.” “Anyone who has ever made a purchase online or in a store knows that there is an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new payment methods for goods and services,” said Julie Rottenberg, the company's general counsel. “Today's lawsuit ignores the fact that Visa is just one of many competitors in a growing debit market where there are many new entrants who are succeeding.”

The San Francisco-based company is valued at more than $500 billion on the stock market. Its shares fell by almost 5 percent after the lawsuit became known.

Visa's alleged anti-competitive behavior began around 2012, when rival companies entered the payments sector amid reforms that required card issuers to include unaffiliated networks, a senior Justice Department official said.

The lawsuit seeks to force a Manhattan judge to impose conditions to restore competition in debit payment processing services both online and in physical stores.

The Justice Department's antitrust division began investigating Visa over its debit card practices in 2021. That same year, it blocked the credit card company's acquisition of financial technology company Plaid. Rival Mastercard said in April that it too was being investigated by the Justice Department.

Both companies have been involved in legal disputes for nearly two decades over their dominance in the card market, and In 2019, Apple agreed to pay $5.6 billion to U.S. retailers to settle claims in a class action lawsuit accusing them of anti-competitive practices.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to reporting