DOJ probing Visa on U.S. debit card practices, competition

(Reuters) – Visa Inc said on Friday the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice had issued investigative demand earlier this month seeking documents and information about U.S. debit card practices and competition with other payment networks.

The probe, which began in early 2021, followed reports the United States was investigating whether the credit card company uses anticompetitive practices in the debit card market.

The Justice Department has previously investigated the credit card payments industry but settled with Visa and Mastercard Inc in 2010 when they agreed to allow merchants to offer consumers incentives to use a low-cost credit card.

Visa’s regulatory filing late on Friday also said that the European Commission had informed the company in December that it had opened a preliminary investigation into its incentive agreements with clients.

Both Visa and Mastercard have faced increasing scrutiny for their dominance in the credit card market. Visa, in 2019, had to settle a European Union antitrust probe over card fees.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)