Durbin says Visa and MasterCard raise antitrust concerns

Senator Richard Durbin (D - Illinois) said "serious antitrust concerns" will be raised if Visa and MasterCard punish small banks that use their payment networks.

According to Reuters, Durbin wrote a letter to Visa and MasterCard executives that accused them of trying to frighten small companies into opposing his proposal to regulate "swipe" fees charged to merchants when customers use debit cards.

"I would caution you not to collude with your largest member banks to change your fees and rules in an effort to protect the big banks against competition from smaller card-issuing banks," Durbin wrote. "Such steps would also raise serious antitrust concerns."