BRUSSELS, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Visa's refusal to do business with Morgan Stanley in European Union nations has drawn a charge from EU regulators worried about anti-competitive behavior.
The European Commission charges against Visa International, the credit card group, could lead to fines, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
The allegations focus on a decision by Visa, an association of banks and financial services groups, not to give Morgan Stanley, the big U.S. investment bank, access to Visa customers.
Visa took that position because Morgan Stanley has its own credit card.
The commission said such tactics hurt competition in the "merchant acquiring market."
Visa, which learned of the charges Monday, defended its actions as promoting competition:
"Morgan Stanley operates the Discover brand credit card, a product that competes directly with Visa. We believe, therefore, that allowing Morgan Stanley into the Visa association would give them competitive information, which would effectively reduce competition in the market, and that strong competition in the payments industry benefits everyone, particularly consumers."
