Judge Certifies Class in Apple Pay Fee Suit Over Up to $1 Billion a Year
Updated
Updated · MacRumors · Sep 25
Judge Certifies Class in Apple Pay Fee Suit Over Up to $1 Billion a Year
3 articles · Updated · MacRumors · Sep 25
Summary
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White certified a class of banks and credit unions that issued Apple Pay-enabled cards and paid Apple transaction fees, allowing them to pursue the antitrust case together.
The 2022 lawsuit says Apple used control of the iPhone’s NFC chip to make Apple Pay the only tap-to-pay wallet on iPhones, letting it collect up to $1 billion annually from card issuers.
Apple also lost a bid to exclude expert testimony that plaintiffs say supports their claim Apple holds monopoly power in the mobile wallet market.
The complaint seeks repayment of fees and an order ending the challenged policies, even though Apple has since opened NFC access in iOS 18.1 to developers in the U.S. and other markets.