Discover financial services network Pulse settles antitrust lawsuit against Visa

Pulse Network, a unit of Discover Financial Services, has agreed to settle a long-running antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The settlement, disclosed Friday in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Houston, Texas, ends a legal battle that began in 2014.

According to Reuters, Pulse Network accused Visa of hindering competition in the lucrative market for debit card network services, leading to higher fees for merchants. The lawsuit alleged that Visa’s pricing structure, which included monthly and per-transaction fees, unfairly discouraged merchants from switching to other card networks, thereby stifling competition.

The terms of the settlement remain secret because the court application signed by both parties did not contain any details. Both Pulse and Visa did not respond to requests for comments or additional information about the settlement.

In the lawsuit, Pulse sought damages for lost profits and an injunction to promote healthy competition in the network debit card services industry. The trial was originally scheduled to take place in 2026. Visa consistently denied any irregularities throughout the proceedings.

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The case has experienced several legal twists and turns over the years. In 2018, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes dismissed the lawsuit, but that ruling was overturned in 2022 by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court reassigned the case to a new judge, citing concerns that Judge Hughes may have shown “ingrained skepticism about Pulse’s claims.”

Because the lawsuit has now been dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be re-filed, the resolution marks the end of a protracted legal battle between the two financial giants. It is unclear what impact the settlement will have on the debit card network services market and its participants, as details of the agreement have not yet been made public.