Over 60% of US debit transactions go through Visa
The Justice Department (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa on Tuesday, alleging that the company has illegally monopolized the debit payments market, costing consumers billions.
DOJ claims Visa penalizes merchants and banks that don’t use its payment processing technology, imposing “disloyalty penalties” that hinder access to lower-cost alternatives.
The department alleges that Visa signed agreements to limit tech players, including Apple, PayPal and Square, from developing other payment methods and becoming potential rivals.
Over 60% of US debit transactions go through Visa, enabling the company to collect more than $7 billion annually and process approximately 3.3 trillion transactions a year.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the payment tech company’s actions led to inflated costs to consumers.
Visa defends its practices, arguing that it competes in a growing market and plans to fight the lawsuit vigorously.
The lawsuit adds to DOJ’s recent antitrust actions on platforms maintaining a monopoly, including Apple, Ticketmaster, and more. Following the news, Visa shares fell 5.5%.