Justice Department sues Visa for allegedly monopolizing debit market

The Justice Department on Tuesday sued the credit card company Visa, over allegations that it was monopolizing the debit market illegally and engaging in antitrust behavior.

Visa is currently the biggest credit and debit card company in the country, and allegedly controls roughly 60% of the debit market, which gives them approximately $7 billion in fees every year, per Axios. The DOJ accused them of paying off or threatening potential rivals in order to limit competition, and enters exclusive contracts with banks and some merchants that forces them to use Visa's network, according to The Hill.

“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 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.” 

The lawsuit comes as the Biden administration attempts to crack down on other alleged antitrust activities like pushing back on drug prices, and reducing hidden junk fees so banks can only charge Americans $8 in late fees for each incident.

The antitrust case also comes after Capital One announced a new deal in February to acquire Discover Financial, which would help that company be a bigger competitor to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.