The Blubber

The US Justice Department is preparing to file a lawsuit accusing Visa Inc. of illegally monopolizing the US debit card market, according to sources familiar with the matter. The antitrust division is expected to file the case in federal court as early as Tuesday, alleging a range of anticompetitive practices by Visa, which operates the largest payments network in the country.

The lawsuit would mark the culmination of a years-long investigation into Visa’s business practices, which began after the company’s failed attempt to acquire financial-technology infrastructure firm Plaid Inc. in 2021. During the probe, the Justice Department also scrutinized Visa’s pricing structure related to “tokenization” technology, a process used to secure card transactions.

Sources indicate that antitrust enforcers will accuse Visa of implementing strategies to maintain its dominance by preventing competitors from gaining a foothold in the debit card market. Allegations include exclusive agreements that stifled the growth of rival networks and actions to block technology companies from entering the market.

The Justice Department and Visa both declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

Last year, Mastercard Inc., a major competitor of Visa, resolved a separate enforcement action involving its tokenization technology practices brought by the US Federal Trade Commission, which also oversees antitrust laws.