US prepares to sue Visa for alleged anti-competitive behaviour

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The US Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, accusing the payments company of anti-competitive behaviour.

Federal prosecutors are set to file a lawsuit as early as Tuesday, said a person familiar with the matter. The move would come after a years-long review by the DoJ into Visa’s business practices.

The company in 2021 disclosed in a regulatory filing that the DoJ’s antitrust unit had requested information on potential violations of antitrust law provisions that outlaw anti-competitive agreements and monopolistic conduct. The civil probe focused on Visa’s debit card business in the US as well as competition in other networks and payment methods.

The company last year said federal prosecutors had sought additional documents as part of this investigation. Visa said it was co-operating with the DoJ and in 2021 said its “US debit practices are in compliance with applicable laws”.

The DoJ declined to comment. Visa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The prospective lawsuit was first reported by Bloomberg.

Visa shares fell almost 2 per cent in after-hours trading.

It was not immediately clear whether the areas of interest Visa previously disclosed would be the focus of the DoJ’s upcoming enforcement action.

Antitrust agencies have also scrutinised Visa’s competitors. Mastercard last year reached an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission to settle charges that the company illegally forced merchants to direct debit card payments via its payment network.

Visa and Mastercard earlier this year agreed to cut the so-called swipe fees they charge retailers in a legal settlement that merchants said would save them $30bn over five years, but the deal was later rejected by a federal judge.

Progressive antitrust officials in the Joe Biden administration have adopted tougher antitrust policy in an attempt to course correct what they have described as decades of lax enforcement.

Under the leadership of Jonathan Kanter, the DoJ’s antitrust division has pursued big cases attempting to curb powerful businesses including in Big Tech. The justice department is facing off against Google in a trial that accuses the company of monopolising the digital advertising space. It won a separate case against Google in which the company was branded a monopolist in online search.