The FTC Investigates Visa and MasterCard on Debit-Card Routing

By Sam Boughedda

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether Visa (NYSE:) and MasterCard (NYSE:) security tokens limit debit-card routing competition on online payments.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication said the FTC has already been looking into whether Visa and Mastercard stop merchants from routing payments over other debit-card networks.

The FTC is said to have focused its attention on routing challenges stemming from network security tokens in recent months, although WSJ sources aren’t certain if the investigation is part of a new probe or the previous one.

Visa and Mastercard are the largest card networks in the U.S., but their dominance has come under scrutiny from regulators, while merchants have also stressed their frustrations.

The WSJ stated that an investigation by the Justice Department investigating if Visa unlawfully held a dominant market share in debit cards is ongoing.