Advanta Countersues Visa on AmEx Ban
Firing another volley in the credit card wars, Advanta Corp. sued Visa USA and MasterCard International, saying their effort to stop Advanta’s joint project with American Express Corp. is anti-competitive. Spring House, Pa.-based Advanta, a bank specializing in credit cards, asked a federal court in Philadelphia to tell Visa and MasterCard to lift their bans on Advanta’s new program. Advanta said earlier this month it would issue new Visa and MasterCards to AmEx members. Holders of the new cards could use them to earn points in American Express Membership Rewards program. Earlier this week, MasterCard sued American Express, accusing it of trademark infringement. Visa has also sued, without mentioning Advanta, saying the agreement with AmEx violates a Visa bylaw prohibiting member banks from issuing AmEx cards. MasterCard has a similar policy.
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