Visa Says European Antitrust Watchdog Investigating Its Acquirer Fees

Visa says European regulators are investigating the fees it charges retailers.

The company revealed the European Commission’s (EC) preliminary probe in its annual report Wednesday (Nov. 13).

“On August 30, 2024, the EC informed Visa that it has opened a preliminary investigation into Visa’s fees charged to acquirers,” the report said. “Visa is cooperating with the EC in connection with the investigation.”

Visa also said that the EC notified it in October that it had concluded a nearly two-year old investigation into Visa’s incentive agreements with clients.

This comes one week after a report by Reuters that the EC had launched an investigation into whether Mastercard and Visa’s fees are harming merchants.

The report, citing an EU document viewed by Reuters, said the EC had sent questionnaires to retailers and payment service providers about both Visa and Mastercard in September, giving them until last month to respond.

According to Reuters, retailers have in recent years complained about “scheme fees” by Visa and Mastercard, pointing to the companies’ dominance and saying there is a lack of transparency around such fees.

Card payment system operators levy scheme fees to merchants for the use of their services. The EC can use the results of the questionnaire in building an antitrust case, which can lead to fines of up to 10% of a company’s earnings.

Meanwhile, Visa is facing a class action lawsuit in the U.S. from merchants connected to its debit network, accusing the company of anticompetitive behavior.

Visa was also sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in September, with the government accusing the company of limiting competition in the debit card market and suppressing alternatives.

The DOJ suit alleges that Visa employed exclusionary contracts and anticompetitive practices to hold onto its market share dominance, driving up fees for merchants and consumers.

A statement from Visa General Counsel Julie Rottenberg provided to PYMNTS called the government’s lawsuit “meritless.”

“Anyone who has bought something online, or checked out at a store, knows there is an ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services,” Rottenberg said. “Today’s lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving.