Visa's deal to buy fintech startup Plaid faces antitrust scrutiny: WSJ

[BENGALURU] Payment processor Visa Inc's US$5.3 billion deal to buy fintech startup Plaid Inc is facing antitrust scrutiny at the US Justice Department, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department could decide soon whether it will sue to block the deal, the report said.

After examining the planned purchase for much of this year, the department is concerned it could limit nascent competition in the payments sector, the report added.

Also on Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a petition with a US district court in Massachusetts, asking it to require consulting firm Bain & Co to turn over documents wanted as part of the antitrust review, including some that discuss Visa's strategies around pricing and competition with other debit card networks.

The department said in a statement that Bain was "asserting unsupported claims of privilege over the documents." Bain did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Visa and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment regarding the newspaper report.

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Plaid declined to comment about the report.

The deal, which would boost Visa's access to the fintech space, was announced in January.

REUTERS