The Justice Department accused Visa of having an illegal monopoly over debit payments in a new lawsuit.
The company, which operates the biggest payments network in the world, uses “exclusionary” agreements to smother smaller companies, the department said.
The civil antitrust suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges “monopolization” and other unlawful conduct that had led to American consumers and merchants paying billions of dollars in extra fees.
“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service,” Garland said. “As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”
Visa accounts for about 60% of debit transactions in the U.S. run, leading to more than $7 billion in processing fees.
Julie Rottenberg, Visa’s general counsel, characterized the lawsuit as “meritless” and said the company will defend itself “vigorously.”
Visa’s attempted $5.3 billion acquisition of online payment technology company Plaid, was blocked by the Justice Department in 2020 over concerns it would lead to a lack of competition.