US government sues Visa for antitrust violations

The US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday, September 24, that it is taking legal action against payment card issuer Visa for anti-competitive practices in the United States. In this complaint filed in New York, the American authorities accuse Visa of abusing its dominant position to impose exclusivity agreements on banks and merchants.

As reported by NPR, the complaint claims that Visa handles more than 60% of debit card transactions in the United States, and collects more than $7 billion in processing fees annually. The company is accused of stifling competition in order to keep fees artificially high. “We allege that Visa has unlawfully acquired the power to charge fees that far exceed what (the company) could obtain in a competitive market.”Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.