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Visa shares fell sharply when trading at noon on Friday, after a report said the Justice Department had opened an investigation into its debit card business and possible anti-competitive practices.
The antitrust division of the department has begun collecting information on whether Visa, the largest card network in the United States, has limited the ability of merchants to direct debit card transactions to less expensive networks, according to unnamed sources who have spoke to The Wall Street Journal.
These sources added that questions from DOJ investigators are focused on online debit card transactions, but also included questions about the store’s problems.
Visa, which had seen its shares under pressure earlier on Friday, fell sharply from about $ 218.50 a share to about $ 209 a share around 11:30 a.m. in New York, according to the Journal report. Its losses decreased the stock by about 5% per session.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Visa declined to comment.
The probe focuses on the role of network fees, fees that payment processors charge merchants in exchange for access to the processor’s vast network, according to the report.
Investigators will seek to determine whether Visa’s tariff policies illegally give it unfair market dominance, the Journal found.