US sues Visa alleging card issuer monopolises debit card markets

The US justice department has filed an anti-trust legal case against Visa (Jenny Kane/AP)

The US justice department has filed an anti-trust legal case against Visa, alleging that the financial services behemoth uses its size and dominance to stifle competition in the debit card market, costing consumers and businesses billions of dollars.

The complaint filed on Tuesday says Visa penalises merchants and banks who do not use Visa’s own payment processing technology to process debit transactions, even though alternatives exist.