The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an antitrust suit against payments giant Visa for allegedly operating a debit payments monopoly. 

A complaint filed in a federal court in New York on Sept. 24 alleged that Visa uses exclusivity agreements and the threat of penalties against vendors to prevent competition from infringing on the company’s market share. 

Alleged payments monopoly

Visa reportedly commands a 60% market share in the US debit transactions sector, allowing the firm to reap $7 billion in transaction fees alone. 

In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland opined that Visa’s conduct was monopolistic and, as such, has served as a catalyst for increased prices:

“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market. 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.”

Transaction alternatives

The complaint also alleges that Visa uses its market size and corporate holdings to entice would-be competitors into partnerships. This, purportedly, would align with the DOJ’s allegations that Visa’s practices lead to increased prices for consumers even when alternatives enter the marketplace.

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As Cointelegraph reported in early 2024, analysts have begun raising the specter of Visa losing its market-leading status among payment facilitators. They argued that new competition from the stablecoin market was emerging.

“Stablecoins win on convenience,” argued Sacra co-founder Jan-Erik Asplund, at the time, ultimately predicting that stablecoins — a form of cryptocurrency backed by fiat money — would ultimately outpace Visa as the go-to transaction medium for international payments. 

Visa has since retorted, arguing that stablecoin data is noisy and the threat of losing the war for the position of global financial facilitator has been overhyped. 

Meanwhile, outside the US, stablecoins have begun to overtake fiat currency as the dominant payment method in multiple markets. 

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