Fed’s Debit Card Rulemaking Gets Support of Justice Department

The Justice Department’s antitrust division is showing its support of the Federal Reserve Board’s proposal to require debit card issuers to give merchants a choice of payment processing networks for online purchases.

The DOJ’s comment addresses an antitrust issue that’s been the subject of heated legal battles involving some of the largest players in the industry, including Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.

The comment comes after President Joe Biden’s July executive order to foster competition in a host of industries.

The Fed’s proposed rulemaking on “Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing” aims to require card-issuers to make available at least ...