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on september 24, local time, the u.s. department of justice filed a lawsuit against visa, accusing it of maintaining an illegal monopoly in the u.s. debit card market. it is reported that visa handles more than 60% of debit card transactions in the united states and collects more than $7 billion in fees each year.

the u.s. department of justice's complaint alleges that visa insulates itself from competitors by signing exclusive agreements with merchants and banks, thereby locking in transaction volumes and suppressing the development of smaller, lower-priced competitors. attorney general merrick garland said visa's power enables it to charge fees far higher than what would be charged in a competitive market, ultimately causing merchants and banks to pass those costs on to consumers, affecting the prices of nearly all goods.

in addition, visa offered financial incentives and threatened punitive fees to induce potential competitors to become partners rather than enter the market directly as competitors. the justice department believes that the company's actions intentionally and systematically cut off competition and prevent rivals from gaining the necessary scale, market share, and data.