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Visa shares fell sharply on Friday afternoon after a report that the Department of Justice had launched an investigation into its debit card business and possible rivalries.
According to unnamed sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, the department’s antitrust department began gathering information on whether Visa, the largest card network in the United States, had restricted merchants’ ability to send debit card transactions over cheaper networks.
According to the sources, the questions from DOJ investigators are focused on online debit card transactions, but also inquiries about issues in the store.
Visa, which saw its shares under pressure earlier Friday, suddenly fell from about $ 218.50 per share to about $ 209 per share in New York after the Journal’s report. The losses dropped the stock by about 5% during the session.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Visa declined to comment.
The investigation focuses on the role of network fees, according to the report that payment processors pay to merchants, in exchange for access to the processor’s extensive network.
Investigators will try to determine whether Visa’s fee policy unlawfully dominates the market, the Journal found.