2023-09-28 14:31:04
The Cupertino giant has already faced (and still faces) a collection of lawsuits related to alleged anti-competitive practices and monopoly — some of which are related to Apple Paythe company’s digital payment service.
Recently, another proposed class action of this type reached Apple’s judicial sector, in which three credit unions in the United States alleged the company’s “monopolistic behavior” for not granting their applications access to the NFC chip.Near field communicationor proximity field communication.”>1.
According to the indictment, Apple Pay is “illegally linked” to Apple phones, tablets and watches. Apple filed a motion to dismiss the case but, according to the report, Northern California District Judge Jeffrey White rejected the ruling.
More to the point, the judge agreed with the co-ops’ argument that because QR code payment apps lack the convenience and functionality of Apple Pay, the iOS feature is a market unto itself — and Apple is the only player given the restriction of the capabilities of the NFC chip in iPhones and Apple Watches.
On the other hand, the judge supported Apple’s argument that Apple Pay is free and the company does not force people to use it. But overall, the judge wrote that the claim that Apple has a monopoly is “plausible.”
In this sense, he agreed that the company charges “arbitrary and inflated fees” for processing payments and said that the lack of competition in the digital payments market on iOS is harmful to consumers.
The case is expected to continue on December 1st, when Apple and the cooperatives will meet once more in court.
via Archyde.com
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