Prof. Paul Vaaler Interviewed on WCCO Radio About an Antitrust Suit Against VISA Claiming it Has a Debit Card Monopoly

Professor Paul Vaaler, John and Bruce Mooty Chair in Law and Business, was interviewed on WCCO Radio about the U.S. Justice Department’s newly-filed antitrust suit against Visa for their alleged monopolization of the U.S. debit card market. Prof. Vaaler said the U.S. Justice Department’s claim is that Visa uses its incredibly large volume debit payment network (+$7 trillion annually) to force merchants and their banks to run transactions through them (as an intermediary) rather than some other smaller network that may do so for lower cost. If true, the practice reduces competition for payment services, increases merchant and bank costs, which get passed on in part to debit card holders.