Kessler Topaz is currently investigating potential claims by merchants against Visa in connection with Visa’s efforts to limit competition in the U.S. debit transaction market. Visa’s anticompetitive conduct has allowed Visa to charge supracompetitive fees to merchants, acquirers, and issuers on debit transactions.
On September 24, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a lawsuit against Visa for its monopolization of the U.S. debit transaction market. The complaint alleges that Visa maintains its dominant position through exclusionary and anticompetitive means that violate federal antitrust law. According to the DOJ, Visa has deployed a multifaceted strategy to maintain its dominance over the debit transaction market. One major way that Visa limits competition is through its agreements with merchants and acquirers. The second way is that Visa also restricts competition for debit transactions through its contracts with debit card issuers. Finally, in addition to imposing significant volume commitments on merchants, acquirers, and issuers that thwart competition, Visa has reached agreements with several would-be competitors, including Apple, PayPal, and Square, to stave off competition. In these agreements, the competitors have agreed not to develop or offer payment methods that give consumers the means to pay from their bank accounts (which would compete with debit products) in exchange for lucrative incentives (sometimes worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually).
As a result of Visa’s anticompetitive conduct, merchants routing debit transactions through Visa’s network have paid, and will continue to pay, supracompetitive fees.
Contact us today if you are a business owner who permits Visa Debit to be used as a payment method for clients and/or customers. You can fill out our online form below, call us at 484-270-1453 or email us at info@ktmc.com.