A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that Visa USA and MasterCard International violated antitrust laws by barring participating their card issuers from issuing competitors' cards. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opens the way for rival card issuers American Express and Discover to market their brands through credit union and bank issuers of the two card giants. It was not clear whether Visa or MasterCard will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
The suit was brought by the U.S. Justice Department which claimed the two card associations conspired to restrain trade through the so-called exclusionary clauses.
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