Japanese regulators find Visa pressured firms, hiked fees
Japan’s antitrust watchdog, in its first action against a credit card firm, found Visa restricted competitors by charging higher fees and has ordered reforms
The commission said the Visa unit has submitted plans to improve its practices, adding that it has accepted the plans. The company was exempted from facing fines or other punitive measures under the antimonopoly law.
According to the Japan Consumer Credit Association, as of 2020, the Visa credit card brand accounted for about half of the market share in Japan. The total amount of credit card transactions in the country in 2024 stood at 116 trillion yen (US$785 billion).
Credit card transactions involve an issuing company and management company, which both utilise a trusted reference system when a transaction is made, according to the watchdog.
Interchange fees, typically set by global brands, are paid by the management company to the issuing company during a transaction, while the issuing company pays a service charge to a different company – in this case Visa Worldwide – providing the reference system.