According to the civil antitrust case, Visa uses its market dominance to "thwart the growth of its existing competitors and prevent others from developing new and innovative alternatives," therefore maintaining an unlawful monopoly over the debit network markets.

Visa's debit network processes nearly 60% of all debit transactions in the US, enabling them to collect over $7 billion in fees annually for processing such transactions.

According to the allegation, Visa keeps its dominant strength illegally by isolating itself from rivals.

For instance, Visa imposes a complex network of exclusive agreements on banks and retailers by using its size, power, and centrality in the debit ecosystem. Visa users who route transactions to an alternate payment system or another debit network are penalized by these arrangements, according to the DoJ.

Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Visa intimidates or coerces smaller rivals into partnering with them.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) blocked Visa's $5.3 billion merger of fintech Plaid in 2020 by suing on the grounds that the deal would remove a potential rival to the card scheme's own operations.

Attorney General Merrick Garland states, "We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market." "Banks and merchants pass those costs through to customers by either raising prices or lowering the level of quality or service." Thus, the price of almost everything is impacted by Visa's illegal actions, not just the price of one item.

Visa promises to stand up for itself in court. Julie Rottenberg, chief counsel for the corporation, said in a statement: "Anyone who has checked out at a store or made an online purchase knows there is an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services."

"The lawsuit filed today ignores the fact that there are numerous competitors in the expanding debit market, including successful new entrants, including Visa."