Mastercard Australian antitrust trial hears economists clash on market definition
By Saloni Sinha ( May 22, 2026, 09:04 GMT | Insight) -- Economists for Mastercard and Australia’s competition regulator clashed in court Friday over how to define markets in modern payments systems, as an antitrust trial over alleged misuse of market power continued in the Federal Court. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s expert argued that credit-card acceptance services constitute a standalone market, while Mastercard’s economist said the company’s payments system should instead be treated as an integrated two-sided platform.Economists for Mastercard and Australia’s competition regulator clashed in court Friday over how to define markets in modern payments systems, as an antitrust trial over alleged misuse of market power continued in the Federal Court....
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