The U.S. Justice Department has sued Visa, accusing the company of monopolizing the debit payments market and using its dominant position to eliminate potential competitors. The antitrust lawsuit filed on Tuesday (Sep. 24) in Manhattan federal court, alleged that Visa “illegally maintains its monopoly power by insulating itself from competition,” while also coercing would-be competitors to become partners instead of entering the market as competitors. The complaint further claims the financial company imposed a “web of exclusionary agreements” on merchants and banks, which penalized Visa’s customers for routing transactions through a different debit network or alternative payment systems, such as Apple or Google. “Everybody is a friend and partner.