The US Justice Department sought additional information from Visa Inc. on debit cards and other payment methods in May, according to a new disclosure, deepening an inquiry into the company’s practices.
(Bloomberg) — The US Justice Department sought additional information from Visa Inc. on debit cards and other payment methods in May, according to a new disclosure, deepening an inquiry into the company’s practices.
Visa received a civil investigative demand, which is similar to a subpoena, from the department on May 2, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The San Francisco-based company had previously disclosed receiving an information request in January, and rival Mastercard Inc. said in April that it had also been contacted by the Justice Department’s antitrust lawyers.
The Justice Department in 2021 opened a probe into Visa over its practices and dominance in certain payment areas. The department has sought information about Visa’s agreements with PayPal Holdings Inc. to stop the firm from pushing consumers to pay with their checking accounts instead of debit and credit cards when using PayPal’s digital wallet, a practice known as steering.
In 2010, Visa settled an antitrust suit brought by the Justice Department over company rules that barred merchants from steering customers to lower-cost debit and credit cards.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the May civil investigative demand.
–With assistance from Jenny Surane.
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