Court: Apple did not collude illegally with Visa and Mastercard
Apple collects commissions for payments with Apple Pay. Several US retailers saw this as an infringement of competition law.
Pay with Apple Pay.
(Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / Shutterstock.com)
Apple has initially won a US legal dispute over credit card fees for Apple Pay payments. The U.S. District Court in Illinois ruled last week that a group of merchants, including beverage seller Mirage Wine & Spirits and other stores, had not provided sufficient evidence to support their lawsuit.
Apple Pay uses the major credit card networks
Judge David Dugan therefore decided to end the legal dispute. In the lawsuit, which has now been dismissed, the credit card issuers Visa and Mastercard were also listed as defendants alongside Apple. The companies are alleged to have illegally cooperated to suppress the development of competing payment systems, according to the plaintiffs. They have also illegally "inflated" their transaction fees. All of this constituted an infringement of competition law. Judge Dugan, on the other hand, saw "ample circumstantial evidence" but no specific causes of action. However, Dugan allowed the plaintiffs to add further evidence, writes the news agency Reuters.
According to the lawsuit, Apple currently charges 0.15 percent commission for Apple Pay payments for credit card payments. 0.5 cents is due for debit card payments. Both apply when the Visa or Mastercard payment network is used. According to the plaintiffs, the arrangement prevents innovation and means that there are no competing systems. However, Apple uses all major payment providers for Apple Pay, including Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club and American Express (Amex). Mastercard is used for other services such as the company's own US credit card Apple Card, while the Apple Cash payment service for payments between users is said to use Visa internally. The plaintiffs now want Apple Pay to also use other – unspecified – networks.
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There is an NFC opening in the EU
Apple recently had to open up NFC payments in the European Union. This allows banks and fintech companies to bypass Apple Pay altogether. They can then integrate debit and credit card payments into their apps and set up their wallet. However, it is unclear how well this will go down with users, as they will then have to constantly switch between Apple Pay and the proprietary wallets.
The proceedings in Illinois are now likely to continue: at the very least, Judge Dugan allowed the plaintiffs to add further evidence to their lawsuit. The group is seeking to establish a class action lawsuit against Apple. If new evidence is not submitted within 30 days, the lawsuit will be dismissed outright.
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