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States probe credit cards
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April 9, 1998: 1:49 p.m. ET
Attorneys general look into antitrust violations by Visa, MasterCard
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Nearly a dozen states have opened a new investigation of alleged antitrust abuses in the credit-card industry.
A spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office told CNNfn Thursday there is a multistate investigation into Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International being conducted through the Payment Systems Working Group, part of the National Association of Attorneys General antitrust force.
The spokesman declined to give details on the focus of the investigation.
According to a report published in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, 11 states, including Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, California, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota, have asked Visa and MasterCard to talk with investigators next week.
The move comes as the Justice Department is set to end its own antitrust investigation into Visa and MasterCard.
The Justice Department's 18-month investigation centers around Visa's and MasterCard's alleged joint control over the same big banks and bylaws that prevent member banks from issuing competing cards from such companies as American Express Co.
Shares of American Express (AXP) rose 4-1/16 to 107-7/8 in midday trading. 
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