美国司法部指控VISA阻止竞争

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought a lawsuit against Visa. It is accusing the financial services company of using illegal methods to block competition in the debit card market.
美国司法部对Visa提起诉讼。它指控这家金融服务公司使用非法手段遏制借记卡市场的竞争。

The lawsuit states the San Francisco-based company penalizes businesses and banks that do not use Visa's own payment processing technology.
诉讼称，这家总部位于旧金山的公司对不使用Visa自有支付处理技术的商家和银行进行处罚。

The DOJ argues that Visa's anti-competition methods cost individuals and businesses billions of dollars every year. Visa earns money for each purchase, or transaction, processed on its own network.
美国司法部认为，Visa的这种反竞争手段每年给个人和商家造成数十亿美元的损失。Visa通过其自有支付网络上处理的每笔购买或交易赚钱。

The DOJ estimates about 60 percent of debit transactions in the U.S. take place on Visa's debit network. This adds up to more than $7 billion each year.
美国司法部估计，美国约60%的借记交易发生在Visa的借记网络上。这些处理费用加起来每年超过70亿美元。

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ found that Visa had unlawfully gained enough power to charge money, or fees, “that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.”
司法部长梅里克·加兰在一份声明中表示，司法部发现Visa非法获得足够实力来收取金钱或费用，这“远远超过了它在竞争激烈的市场中可以收取的费用。”

Garland added that businesses and banks then pass those costs on to consumers. They either raise prices or reduce quality or service. As a result, Visa's business methods affect “not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything.”
加兰德补充说，商家和银行随后将这些成本转嫁给消费者。他们要么提高价格，要么降低质量或服务。因此，Visa的商业方式“不仅影响一件东西的价格，而且影响几乎所有东西的价格”。

Julie Rottenberg is Visa's chief legal counsel. She said in a statement that the lawsuit does not consider the “ever expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services.”
朱莉·罗滕伯格是Visa的首席法律顾问。她在一份声明中表示，该诉讼没有考虑“为商品和服务提供全新支付方式的公司圈不断扩大”。

“Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving,” Rottenberg said. She added that the company would strongly defend itself against the “meritless” lawsuit.
罗滕伯格说：“今天的诉讼忽略了这样一个事实，即Visa只是借记卡领域不断增长的的众多竞争对手之一，新的加入者也在蓬勃发展。”她补充说，该公司将对这起“毫无根据”的诉讼进行强有力的辩护。

The lawsuit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The DOJ argues that the huge number of transactions completed on Visa's network makes it difficult for businesses to use alternative companies.
该诉讼是在纽约南区美国地方法院提起的。美国司法部辩称，Visa网络上完成的大量交易使企业难以使用其他公司。

The DOJ also accuses Visa of blocking competition by paying to enter into partnership agreements with possible competitors.
美国司法部还指责Visa通过掏钱与可能的竞争对手签订合作协议来阻止竞争。

In 2020, the DOJ brought legal action to block the company's $5.3 billion purchase of financial technology startup Plaid. It argued the takeover was an attempt to gain control of a possible competitor to Visa. The purchase deal was later cancelled.
2020年，美国司法部提起法律诉讼，阻止该公司以53亿美元收购金融科技初创公司Plaid。美国司法部辩称，此次收购是为了控制Visa可能的竞争对手。这笔收购交易后来被取消。

Since the pandemic, more people worldwide have been shopping online for goods and services. This has led to higher earnings for Visa because of its fee structure for transactions. In addition, more businesses – including ones like bars, haircutters and coffee shops that mostly use cash – have started accepting credit or debit cards as a form of payment.
自疫情以来，全球越来越多人在网上购买商品和服务。由于其交易费用结构，这也导致Visa的收益更高。此外，越来越多的商家，包括酒吧、理发师和咖啡店等主要使用现金的商家，也已经开始接受信用卡或借记卡作为支付方式。

Sanjay Sahrani is a financial advisor with investment company KBW based in New York City. He recently told investors in a note that he estimates U.S. debit revenue is at most about 10 percent of Visa's revenue. Sahrani said this means the lawsuit is likely to have only a limited effect on Visa's revenue as a whole. He also noted the lawsuit could last for years if it is not settled and goes to trial.
桑贾伊·萨赫拉尼是总部位于纽约市的KBW投资公司的财务顾问。他最近在一份报告中告诉投资者，他估计美国借记卡收入最多约占Visa收入的10%。萨赫拉尼表示，这意味着该诉讼可能对Visa的整体收入影响有限。他还指出，如果该诉讼未能和解，并进入审判阶段，可能会持续数年。

Financial records show Visa processed $3.3 trillion in transactions on its network during the three months ending on June 30. This was an increase of 7.4 percent from a year earlier. U.S. payments grew by 5.1 percent, which is a lot faster than U.S. economic growth.
财务记录显示，在截至6月30日的三个月里，Visa在其网络上处理了3.3万亿美元的交易。这比去年同期增长了7.4%。美国的支付增长了5.1%，远远快于美国的经济增长。