Antitrust issues in payment card networks: can they do that? should we let them?

Although people still use cash to pay for goods and services, the trend is toward payment cards. In the U.S., payment card networks coordinate the activities of thousands of financial institutions, millions of retail locations, and several hundred million consumers. This coordination may include the collective setting of certain prices and other controversial network rules. Such practices have recently come under the scrutiny of antitrust authorities in the U.S. and abroad. In "Antitrust Issues in Payment Card Networks: Can They Do That? Should We Let Them?" Bob Hunt describes the economics of the payment card industry and explains how it differs from the textbook model of competitive markets. He argues that these differences should be reflected in the antitrust analysis of payment card networks. ; Also issued as Payments Card Center Discussion Paper No. 03-11