Visa Inc. will have to continue defending itself in court against fresh antitrust claims over its role in the U.S. debit card market. A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, ruled on August 20 that a 2019 settlement resolving earlier litigation over card swipe fees does not shield the company from new lawsuits brought by merchants, Bloomberg reported.
In her decision, U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie held that while there is some overlap between the two sets of cases, “the facts in the new group are materially different.” The earlier proceedings, which began in 2005 and also involved MasterCard, culminated in a $5.6 billion settlement. That agreement resolved many—but not all—claims related to credit and debit card fees. However, Brodie emphasized that the new suits, filed in October 2024, concern separate issues focused solely on Visa’s alleged monopolization of the debit card market.
The merchants’ claims are closely aligned with those advanced by the U.S. Department of Justice in a separate lawsuit filed the previous month in Manhattan federal court. According to the DOJ, Visa controls more than 60% of all U.S. debit transactions, generating in excess of $7 billion annually in processing fees. The government alleges that Visa illegally maintains this market dominance by discouraging competition. Tactics cited in the complaint include offering financial incentives to potential rivals to partner with Visa rather than compete, as well as imposing punitive fees designed to deter entry by other networks.
Visa had argued that certain merchants involved in the new cases should be barred from proceeding because they had already released claims under the 2019 settlement. Judge Brodie rejected that position, clearing the way for the lawsuits to move forward. A Visa spokesperson declined to comment on the ruling.
The decision means Visa now faces parallel litigation: one set of claims brought by federal authorities, and another by private plaintiffs. Both avenues could extend for years, potentially influencing the competitive conditions of the U.S. debit card market.
