Overview
- Consumer advocate James Daley of Fairer Finance filed the claim, alleging Apple blocked rival wallets by restricting iPhone contactless technology and enabled fees that banks passed on to customers.
- The case argues roughly 50 million people were affected, with the filing saying about 98% of consumers are exposed through banks that list cards on Apple Pay.
- Individual compensation is estimated at about £26, with alleged costs spread across products such as current accounts, credit cards, savings and mortgages.
- Apple says the lawsuit is misguided and should be dismissed, asserting it charges no fees to consumers or merchants for Apple Pay and highlighting fraud-reduction benefits for banks.
- Apple points to recently opened NFC and secure element interfaces allowing third-party apps to enable contactless payments in the UK, as regulators step up scrutiny of digital wallets.