Inspection of Japan Visa Subsidiary Begins Over Alleged Antimonopoly Law Violation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, July 17, 2024

The Japan Fair Trade Commission began Wednesday onsite inspections of Visa Inc.’s Japan subsidiary over an alleged violation of the antimonopoly law. The subsidiary is suspected to have coerced its partners into using its own credit reference system.

Visa Worldwide Japan Co. is believed to have aimed to oust rival companies from the market. It is the first time for JFTC to investigate potential violations of the law over credit card transactions.

The involvement of Visa Worldwide Pte Ltd., which is based in Singapore and oversees the Asia region, is also under suspicion, and an investigation into Visa’s American headquarters is being considered.

The credit card industry is comprised of three types of companies — international brands like Visa that provide payment functions; issuers that manage memberships, including screening and other processes; and acquirers which focus on acquiring new stores that can perform credit card transactions.

A credit inquiry is made by an acquirer, which has card usage agreements with restaurants and other stores, to the issuer of a consumer’s card. If the inquiry results in a successful transaction without any problems, the acquirer pays a transaction fee to the issuer.

According to sources, Visa Worldwide Japan is suspected of having forced acquirers over the past several years to use its own credit reference system when they conduct inquiries into such things as signs of fraudulent use or counterfeiting by a card user, as well as whether their credit limit has been exceeded. The subsidiary conveyed its intention to raise transaction fees it charges to acquirers if they instead used a rival system by Tokyo-based NTT Data Japan Corp. and other companies.

The partners affected include Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Rakuten Card Co., Credit Saison Co., UC Card Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos Co. They are believed to have complied with the demands of Visa Worldwide Japan because most of them have agreements with stores and feared a decline in profits due to an increase in transaction fees.