Mexico's National Antitrust Commission has rejected Visa's proposed acquisition of a 51% stake in payment processor Prosa.
Following the announcement, Mexico's National Antitrust Commission (CNA) has blocked Visa's planned acquisition of a 51% stake in Prosa, a payment processor owned by a consortium of banks, determining that the remedies proposed by both parties were insufficient to address the competition risks identified by the regulator.
The deal, first announced in December 2023, would have given Visa a substantial share of Mexico's payment processing and brand licensing market. Under the proposed structure, Visa would have gained control of two of the three card brands operating in Mexico — its own network and Carnet, the brand owned by Prosa — leaving Mastercard as the sole remaining competitor. The acquisition would also have extended Visa's reach to two of Mexico's four clearinghouses, alongside Prosa, Mastercard, and Servicios Electrónicos Globales (E-Global).
Regulatory concerns
According to Bloomberg, a central concern raised by the CNA was access to data. The deal would have provided Visa with detailed transaction-level information on all card payments routed through Prosa, including those processed on behalf of Mastercard. The regulator concluded that such access could have been used to Visa's competitive advantage over rivals.
In its statement, the CNA said the solutions put forward by Visa and Prosa were not suitable or sufficient to avoid the risk to markets and consumers detected by the commission. At the same time, Visa said it was disappointed by the decision, adding that it is reviewing the ruling and evaluating its options. A company statement described the combination as one that would have significantly accelerated competition in the market and modernised payments in Mexico.
Prosa is currently owned by a group of financial institutions, including Grupo Financiero Banorte, HSBC Holdings, Banco Santander, Bank of Nova Scotia, Invex Controladora, and Banco Nacional del Ejército. Its main clearinghouse rival, E-Global, is owned by BBVA and Banamex.
Visa's regulatory challenges are not limited to Mexico. In the US, the Department of Justice, under the previous administration, alleged that Visa had illegally monopolised the debit card market — a case that remains ongoing.
