US files lawsuit seeking to block Visa from acquiring fintech firm Plaid

(Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday filed a lawsuit seeking to block Visa Inc from purchasing the financial technology firm Plaid.

In a complaint filed with the federal court in San Francisco, the government called Visa “a monopolist in online debit transactions” and said the proposed acquisition “would eliminate a nascent competitive threat” to that monopoly.

Visa said in January it agreed to buy privately held software startup Plaid Inc in a $5.3 billion deal that aimed to boost the payments giant’s access to the booming financial technology space.

Visa said it “strongly disagrees” with the lawsuit, adding that it “reflects a lack of understanding of Plaid’s business and the highly competitive payments landscape in which Visa operates.” The company said it “intends to defend the transaction vigorously.”