Visa antitrust suit makes waves

The Department of Justice sued Visa today, accusing the company of antitrust behavior. Visa used carrots and sticks to keep potential competitors off its turf, while punishing merchants that did business with its rivals, the department said. Fearing that tech companies would deploy cheaper alternatives for sending money, Visa paid companies such as Apple to limit their innovation and sought to challenge startups that tried to compete, the lawsuit said. Visa sometimes cooperated with startups but threatened to terminate contracts if its partners went too far in competing with the network, the lawsuit alleged. After signing one such contract with Square in 2014, a Visa executive apparently said, “We’ve got Square on a short leash.” With Dave Michaels: