US accuses Visa of debit card monopoly

The US Department of Justice has sued Visa, accusing one of the world’s largest payment networks of antitrust violations that affect “the price of nearly everything”.

The financial giant has suppressed competition by threatening merchants with high fees and paying off potential rivals, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Visa makes it difficult for merchants to use alternatives, like lower-cost or smaller payment processors, instead of its own payment processing technology, without incurring what prosecutors described as “disloyalty penalties”.