According to a statement from Visa Inc, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated a probe into whether its actions prohibited merchants from using other debit payment networks.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg Law had reported that the FTC was investigating whether Visa and Mastercard Inc blocked retailers from routing card transactions over other networks including Star, Pulse, and NYCE.

In a regulatory filing, Visa said it had received a letter from the FTC on November 4 and that it is cooperating with the bureau.

Mastercard did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The probe potentially spells trouble for both Mastercard and Visa since they have just settled a EU antitrust probe in April 2019 over card fees.

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