The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Visa of illegally maintaining a monopoly over debit card networks by using its dominance to thwart competition from new and existing rivals.

According to the suit, Visa provides steep discounts on transaction fees for merchants and their banks, as well as financial institutions that issue debit cards, when they agree to route all or most of their transactions through Visa's networks. The fees Visa charges without the agreements, known as rack rates, are allegedly so high, they effectively exclude other debit networks from competing.

• A copy of the DOJ’s filed complaint can be viewed here: Visa Debit DOJ Complaint - 1882000-1882051-show_temp (2)

A private class action has now partially survived a motion to dismiss the complaint.  That action, styled In Re Visa Debit Card Antitrust Litigation, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

You may have claims you are a business that accepts Visa branded debit cards located in any of the following locations:

• New York
• North Carolina
• Michigan
• Arizona
• Tennessee
• Maryland
• Wisconsin
• Colorado
• Minnesota
• Oregon
• Connecticut
• Nevada
• Iowa
• Puerto Rico
• Kansas
• New Mexico
• Nebraska
• West Virginia
• Hawaii
• New Hampshire
• Maine
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• North Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington, D.C.

WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW? If your company is located in any of the states listed above and accepts Visa branded debit cards, you may have been overcharged and may be entitled to recover financial damages and a court approved service award, at no cost to you. 

A copy of the no-cost retainer letter can be viewed here: Visa Debit Card- Sample Retainer Letter

If you would like to learn more about this matter, you are encouraged to contact Joshua H. Grabar us at jgrabar@grabarlaw.com, or call 267-507-6085.