Comdata must share Trendar technology, trade commission rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 5, 1999) — Ceridian Corp. will licence its processing system for truckers’ commercial credit cards in order to settle accusations it violated U.S. anti-trust laws.

Ceridian’s subsidiary, Comdata Holdings Corp., is the largest provider of commercial credit cards, which drivers use to buy fuel and other goods at truck stops.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Comdata’s acquisitions of NTS Corp. in 1998 and Trendar Corp. in 1995 allowed the company to prevent competitors from entering the market or expanding their operations.

NTS was Comdata’s chief rival at the time it was purchased. Trendar operates the market’s dominant point-of-sale processing system.

As part of the settlement, Ceridian must grant other credit-card issuers full access to the Trendar system, the FTC said. Likewise, Comdata said its Comchek card will be accepted on competing transaction processing systems.