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Judge Clears Path for DOJ Antitrust Suit Against Visa

By  |  June 24, 2025

Visa  will have to face a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) after a judge ruled against the company’s effort to have the case dismissed, according to Bloomberg. The decision marks an early win for the government in its attempt to challenge the payments giant’s market conduct.

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    On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in New York denied Visa’s motion to throw out the DOJ’s complaint, which accuses the firm of using exclusionary tactics to maintain dominance over the U.S. debit card network — the largest in the country. Per Bloomberg, Visa processes more than 60% of the over $4 trillion in annual U.S. debit card transactions.

    The DOJ’s lawsuit, originally filed in September, alleges that Visa entered into deals that punished merchants for using other payment options and shelled out payments to potential competitors to keep them from entering the market. These arrangements, the government claims, harmed competition and violated federal antitrust law.

    Visa countered by challenging the government’s framing of the market, arguing that the DOJ defined it too narrowly and failed to show that Visa priced its services below cost or blocked competitors outright. However, Judge Koeltl determined that those arguments are better suited for a later stage in the proceedings.

    Related: US Merchants Sue Visa, Alleging Unfair Dominance in Debit Card Market

    As Bloomberg noted, market definition is often a central battleground in antitrust litigation. Plaintiffs typically argue for a narrow market to demonstrate concentrated power, while defendants seek to broaden the scope to show they face ample competition.

    Judge Koeltl made it clear that at this preliminary phase, his role is only to evaluate whether the DOJ’s claims are plausible — not to determine their truth. He emphasized that questions around how to define the market and which companies are affected involve factual disputes that cannot be resolved through a motion to dismiss.

    The case, titled US v. Visa Inc., No. 24-cv-7214, will now proceed to the discovery phase, where both sides will gather evidence. Visa will have another opportunity to challenge the lawsuit after that process concludes.

    Source: Bloomberg