The legal team representing the Visa group spent yesterday afternoon in the Federal Court battening down for a pecuniary penalty that could be as high as A$20 million. The exact amount of the penalty will be revealed today when the interpretation of the confidential statement of ageed facts from Visa and the ACCC that has been fully argued before Federal Cedourt Judge Michael Wigney.   The two-year action by the ACCC against the Visa group is nearing its conclusion after a case notable for the limited number of appearances in court by either side. The agreement saves experts and industry executives from the likes of ANZ, NAB, Westpac or Travellex from court appearances. In essence, the ACCC's case was that the Visa group had misused its position of market dominance in Australia (where up to 60 per cent of "cross-border transactions" are done using a Visa card) to ensure that all the fees and profits from currency conversion services went to Visa. This was despite the fact that major banks such as NAB, Westpac and ANZ, and other big players such as Travellex, were willing and able to offer alternative services.On Thursday, counsel for the ACCC went through all stages of the agreed facts, culminating in a lengthy discussion of the need for a penalty that would serve as both a punishment and a deterrent to any other US or Eurozone player looking to set up in Australia. The ACCC said the relevant case law indicated a top range should be set at ten per cent of the firm's annual revenue. The Visa group had revenue of around A$330 million in 2010 so this would indicate a penalty of up to $33 million. ACCC's legal team suggested, however, that penalties should be set at a 'midrange' of deterrence: that is, in the $10 million to $20 million range.  Visa's representative took the line that the group's behaviour was motivated by a desire to protect its valuable brand and ensure card-holder satisfaction. He also pointed out that only $30 million (just 3.7 per cent) of the group's revenue was from foreign exchange fees. Visa also requested favourable consideration based on its otherwise clean record. Its counsel asked the Court to take into account, when considering penalties, that Visa "made a mistake and was contrite", and had co-operated in coming to a sensible compromise with the ACCC. The parties return to Federal Court today.