Visa monopolizes debit cards, hurting consumers and businesses, Justice Department alleges
Federal antitrust enforcers are accusing Visa of using its market dominance in payments to stifle competition in the debit card market, raising costs for consumers and businesses.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it filed a lawsuit against the credit card giant alleging that Visa is a monopoly, enabling it to block rivals from introducing lower-priced debit products. Visa also pressures merchants and banks into agreements that penalize businesses that process debit transactions using a different debit or payment system, the agency said.
"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 B. Garland said in a statement. "Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service. As a result, Visa's unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything."
More than 60% of debit transactions in the U.S. are conducted using Visa's network, with the company earning roughly $7 billion a year in processing fees, according to the complaint.
Blocking competitors from bringing alternative debit products to market results in consumers and businesses having to pay billions of dollars in extra fees, the Justice Department alleges in the civil suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Visa dismissed the government's suit as "meritless" and defended its business practices, pointing to the rise of other payment companies that provide debit services.
"Anyone who has bought something online, or checked out at a store, knows there is an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services," Julie Rottenberg, Visa's general counsel, said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving."
In 2020, the Justice Department blocked Visa's proposed $5.3 billion purchase of Plaid, a financial technology provider that specialized in online debit payments, on grounds that the deal would hurt competition.
The Biden administration has taken a much harder line than previous regimes against companies it claims violate the nation's antitrust laws. In particular, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have targeted businesses that regulators accuse of using their market power to stick consumers with gratuitous fees while beating back competitors.
To that end, the Justice Department in May sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for allegedly monopolizing the live entertainment industry. The administration has also brought charges of monopolistic behavior against tech giants such as Apple and Google.
"Anticompetitive conduct by corporations like Visa leaves the American people and our entire economy worse off," Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer Tuesday said in a statement.
The National Retail Federation, a trade group representing merchants, praised the government's suit targeting Visa's debit business. But it also urged the Justice Department and lawmakers to rein in the company more broadly, including in credit cards.
"The DOJ is taking action on Visa's debit card practices, but that is just the tip of the iceberg," NRF Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said in a statement. "This case is a major step forward in fixing our nation's broken payments market, but it should not be the last. The courts, Congress and federal agencies each have roles to play in bringing competition to credit and debit cards and putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street."
—CBS News' Anne Marie Lee and the Associated Press contributed to this report