Visa deal in spotlight

VisA’s £247m takeover of British payments firm Earthport has attracted the attention of the competitions watchdog.

the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) has invited interested parties – which include the credit card giant and rival finance firms and customers – to send in comments by April 18. the CMA is trying to decide whether the deal would ‘substantially lessen’ competition in the UK. if it concludes that it does, it could launch a formal investigation.

AiM- listed Earthport offers technology that supports businesses making international payments and was the target of an intense bidding war between Visa and rival Mastercard.