Mastercard facing DOJ probe into debit practices
By Adrianne Appel2023-04-28T19:22:00
Mastercard said it is under investigation by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division regarding the company’s debit card program.
In March, the DOJ delivered a civil investigative demand (CID) to Mastercard concerning its debit program and competition with other payment networks and technologies, the company said in a first-quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
The DOJ is probing whether Mastercard violated Sections 1 or 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the company said. The Sherman Act gives federal agencies the power, under certain circumstances, to curb commercial activity that is viewed as anticompetitive.