US DOJ to Sue Visa Over Debit Card Market Monopoly, Reports Bloomberg News via Reuters

The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to file a lawsuit against Visa, the largest payments network operator in the world, over allegations of illegal monopolization in the U.S. debit card market, as reported by Bloomberg News on Monday.

The antitrust division is anticipated to take action in federal court as early as Tuesday, citing various anticompetitive practices by Visa, according to sources familiar with the situation. The Justice Department is expected to claim that Visa has implemented measures to hinder competition and maintain its dominance in the debit card market.

Neither Visa nor the DOJ provided immediate comments regarding the situation.

In 2023, the DOJ’s antitrust division issued an investigative demand to Visa, requesting documents and details related to its debit card practices and competition with other payment networks. This inquiry, which began in 2021, aimed to assess whether Visa employed anticompetitive strategies within the debit card sector. At that time, Visa stated its belief that its practices complied with relevant laws.

This development follows a settlement earlier this year in Texas involving Discover Financial Services’ Pulse Network, which accused Visa of stifling competition within the multibillion-dollar debit card network services market, resulting in higher fees for merchants.

Visa’s competitor, Mastercard, has also faced similar antitrust investigations in the past concerning its U.S. debit program and its competition with other payment networks.