Quick access to main page (top) Direct access to main contents Quick access to main page (bottom)

DOJ Blasts Visa for Dominating Debit Card Industry

Daniel Kim Views  

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland / Yonhap News

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Visa for allegedly violating antitrust laws in the debit card market.

According to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times (FT), the Department of Justice claimed in a filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Visa attempted to maintain its monopolistic position by stopping alternative networks.

The DOJ’s filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York claims that Visa imposed an anticompetitive pricing structure, charging additional fees to merchants who did not process transactions through its network. Visa reportedly incentivizes merchants with significant fee reductions for processing high transaction volumes exclusively through its system, effectively creating a barrier that pushes merchants to choose Visa even when competitors offer lower rates.

The lawsuit traces Visa’s alleged anticompetitive practices back to the early 2010s, coinciding with the Dodd-Frank Act, which mandates that card issuers provide at least two independent debit payment networks to foster competition. The DOJ noted that Visa views competitors like PayPal and Apple Pay as “existential threats” due to their growing popularity among merchants.

According to the filing, Visa operates over 60% of the debit transaction market in the U.S., with more than $7 billion in processing fees annually. Merrick Garland said, “We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees far exceeding what it could charge in a competitive market. Merchants and banks pass those costs to consumers by raising prices or reducing quality or service.”

Following the lawsuit, Visa’s stock closed down 5.5% on the New York Stock Exchange.

Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

Comments0

300

Comments0

[WORLD] Latest Stories

  • China Targets U.S. Tech Industry with Rare Earth Export Freeze
  • Porsche Taycan GTS Breaks Guinness Record with 10.9-Mile Ice Drift
  • Africa's MPOX Variant Clade 1b Reaches France: Health Officials Take Action
  • LA Wildfires’ Economic Toll Hits $50 Billion, Doubling Early Estimates
  • Real Reason Trump Wants Greenland and the Panama Canal: Geopolitical Dominance
  • Biden Targets China, Russia with New Semiconductor Export Limits

You May Also Like

  • 1
    Prunes: The Underrated Superfruit Your Cardiologist Might Approve Of

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 2
    3 Daily Habits That Might Be Aging Your Brain Faster Than You Think

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 3
    The One-Spoon Habit That’s Taking Over Healthy Mornings

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 4
    Tired of Painful Periods? Your Pantry Might Hold the Cure

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 5
    Still Tired After 8 Hours of Sleep? This Could Be Why

    LIFESTYLE 

Popular Now

  • 1
    Scientists Link Let-7 Gene to Lung Healing—and Possibly a Cure for Fibrosis

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 2
    GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic Might Cut Cancer Risk Too, Study Finds

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 3
    New Brain Cancer Drug Taps Into the Body's Internal Clock

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 4
    How What You Eat Affects Your Mouth—And the Rest of Your Body

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 5
    Fatigue Fighters? Scientists Zero In on Hidden Energy Regulators

    LIFESTYLE 

Must-Reads

  • 1
    Prunes: The Underrated Superfruit Your Cardiologist Might Approve Of

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 2
    3 Daily Habits That Might Be Aging Your Brain Faster Than You Think

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 3
    The One-Spoon Habit That’s Taking Over Healthy Mornings

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 4
    Tired of Painful Periods? Your Pantry Might Hold the Cure

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 5
    Still Tired After 8 Hours of Sleep? This Could Be Why

    LIFESTYLE 

Popular Now

  • 1
    Scientists Link Let-7 Gene to Lung Healing—and Possibly a Cure for Fibrosis

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 2
    GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic Might Cut Cancer Risk Too, Study Finds

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 3
    New Brain Cancer Drug Taps Into the Body's Internal Clock

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 4
    How What You Eat Affects Your Mouth—And the Rest of Your Body

    LIFESTYLE 

  • 5
    Fatigue Fighters? Scientists Zero In on Hidden Energy Regulators

    LIFESTYLE 

Share it on...