The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa on Tuesday over allegations it illegally monopolized the debit network market.

The Justice Department said Visa uses a system of carrots and sticks to stave off any possible competitors and keep merchants. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, notes that more than 60% of debit transactions run on Visa’s network, which allows the company to charge more than $7 billion annually in processing fees.

“Visa maintains its dominant position not by competing on a level playing field but by insulating itself from competition through exclusionary and anticompetitive means,” the complaint reads. “Visa uses its size, scale, and centrality to the debit transaction ecosystem to penalize those who would switch to a different debit network or to companies that could develop alternative debit products.”

The complaint alleges that Visa also uses extra payments to entice possible competitors to “partner instead of innovate.” While that eats into immediate profits, Visa still pays those possible competitors to “blunt the risk they develop innovative new technologies” that would threaten Visa’s superiority, according to the Justice Department.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a Tuesday statement after the antitrust lawsuit was announced that such moves by Visa have broader ripple effects.

“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market,” he said. “Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service. As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa’s alleged limiting of competition has resulted in billions of dollars in additional fees levied upon U.S. consumers and businesses, according to the Justice Department. The agency said the goal of the lawsuit is to restore competition to the market.

Visa decried the lawsuit as “meritless” and said it would defend itself “vigorously” in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.

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“Today’s lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving,” said Julie Rottenberg, Visa’s general counsel. “When businesses and consumers choose Visa, it is because of our secure and reliable network, world-class fraud protection, and the value we provide.”

In 2020, the Justice Department sued Visa to stop it from acquiring Plaid for a planned $5.3 billion, also accusing Visa of being monopolistic in that endeavor. The acquisition was later scrapped.