The US Justice Division plans to allege that Visa Inc. illegally monopolized the US debit card market, in keeping with folks acquainted with the matter.
The antitrust division is about to file a lawsuit as quickly as Tuesday accusing the operator of the most important US funds community of a spread of anticompetitive conduct, mentioned the folks, who requested to not be recognized discussing the case. The federal government is anticipated to file the case in federal courtroom.
Antitrust enforcers are making ready to accuse Visa of taking steps to maintain rivals from difficult its dominance within the debit card market, mentioned the folks. The federal government’s allegations embrace that Visa made unique agreements to hinder the enlargement of competing networks and thwarted efforts by expertise corporations to enter the market.
Visa and the Justice Division declined to remark.
The Justice Division lawsuit can be the fruits of years-long probes of Visa’s enterprise practices. The investigation was born out of the agency’s failed acquisition of the financial-technology infrastructure agency Plaid Inc. in 2021.
Over the course of the inquiry, the Justice Division additionally examined Visa’s pricing construction in what’s recognized within the trade as “tokenization” expertise.
Funds community rival Mastercard Inc. settled a separate enforcement motion final yr focusing on its tokenization expertise practices introduced by the US Federal Commerce Fee, which additionally enforces antitrust legal guidelines.
–With help from Paige Smith.
