Overview
- Mexico’s Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio rejected Visa International’s proposed purchase of a controlling stake in Prosa, ruling the operation posed risks to competition and financial service users.
- The decision cites three core concerns: elimination of a direct rival because Visa already operates a clearing house, jeopardy to Prosa’s low-cost Carnet card brand, and Visa’s potential access to unique transaction data.
- Prosa processes a large share of card transactions in Mexico—reported around 44%—in a market where clearing houses include Prosa, E-Global, Visa and Mastercard, with bank ownership of Prosa flagged as a structural issue.
- Visa said it is disappointed and is reviewing the resolution, and reporting indicates Visa and Prosa plan to legally challenge the decision.
- Sector analysts say the focus now shifts to opening and strengthening competition among clearing houses, with options that include Visa expanding its own processing operations under existing authorization and broader regulatory reforms first outlined by Cofece in 2023.