Apple Allegedly Made Money Off Apple Pay Illegally And It’s Now Being Sued

Apple Pay is under fire for allegedly taking over US$1 billion worth in fees from card issuers on the app. 

Iowa’s Affinity Credit Union took to the US District Court for the Northern District of California and claimed that Apple has made use of its e-pay monopoly to issue unknown fees to users. Reportedly, each time someone uses the app to pay for something, a charge of 0.15% is paid for credit transactions, and half a cent for debit transactions.   

The complaint fixated on the fact that Apple does not allow third-party e-wallets to function on its devices. You may be able to download Google Pay on your iPhone, but it will not support in-store contactless payment, as Engadget points out.

The plaintiff used Android’s ecosystem to showcase how its users are not subjected to a single e-payment structure, and various third-party wallets work fine on its devices. Android also apparently does not charge a fee for the use of its services.   

The case is being represented by legal firm Hagens Berman, which previously won a settlement with Apple for fixing its e-book prices. The attorneys will also be representing other US credit unions and financial institutions that are engaged in Apple Pay services.   

The desired outcome for the case, besides remuneration for damages caused, is also an injunction to henceforth ban Apple from charging on their platforms.

[via Engadget and AppleInsider, cover image via Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com]