Apple Sued Over Locking Financial Institutions Out of iPhone’s NFC

20 JULY 2022 - News of a potentially troubling suit against Apple. CNET ran a piece earlier this week saying that “financial institutions and credit unions that issue payment cards for Apple Pay” are suing Apple over Apple Pay. Well… over not being able to make an Apple Pay of their own. According to the report:

Apple is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that it has been restricting access to its NFC technology and making billions of dollars in profits as a result.

So, Apple is accused of… business? Not how the plaintiffs see it. Quoting the complaint:

[Apple] exercises its market power in the device markets by requiring that consumers of its mobile devices also acquire its mobile wallet -- Apple Pay -- and prevents consumers from using competing mobile wallets capable of offering competing tap and pay solutions…

“By comparison,” the suit says, “Google does not restrict access to Android NFC technology, enabling multiple competing wallet apps to exist.”

Being the only game in town (where the “game” is Apple Pay and “town,” in this case means “iPhone”), Apple is able to charge money for payments processed. That’s “up to $1 billion a year” that financial institutions and credit unions would apparently rather keep for themselves.

While past performance is not indicative of future results, a piece from 9 to 5 Mac points out that the law firm behind the Apple Pay case has won ebook and developer antitrust cases against the Cupertino-company.

No comment from Apple for the CNET report.