A prominent financial campaigner, James Daley, has launched a £1.5 billion class-action lawsuit against tech giant Apple over its mobile wallet service, Apple Pay. The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s conduct regarding Apple Pay has been anti-competitive, leading to hidden fees that have ultimately harmed over 50 million UK consumers.
The lawsuit targets Apple’s dominance in the contactless payment market, claiming that Apple Pay has been the only such service available to iPhone users in Britain over the past decade. Daley, the founder of the advocacy group Fairer Finance, argues that this situation has allowed Apple to charge hidden fees, which banks have then passed on to consumers, regardless of whether they own an iPhone.
This is the first legal challenge in the UK to Apple’s practices related to Apple Pay. The case has been filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which will now decide whether the class-action lawsuit can proceed.
Daley stated, “People will have no idea they’ve been paying more for everyday banking because of the way Apple has operated Apple Pay. By shutting out competition and charging hidden fees, Apple has pushed up costs for millions of consumers. Shockingly, this doesn’t just affect Apple Pay users or iPhone owners. Banks have passed these costs on to all customers, meaning everyone is paying the price.”
In response, Apple has described the lawsuit as “misguided and should be dismissed,” asserting that Apple Pay is “a seamless and secure way for users to make contactless payments, and one of many payment options available to consumers.” The tech giant maintains that it does not charge fees to consumers or merchants for using Apple Pay and that banks see significant benefits, such as reduced fraud, from offering the service.
However, Daley’s lawsuit alleges that Apple has refused to give other app developers and businesses access to the contactless payment technology on its iPhones, allowing it to charge banks and card issuers fees on Apple Pay transactions that are “not in line with industry practice.” The lawsuit notes that similar fees are not charged on equivalent payments on Android devices, which are built by Google.
The lawsuit claims that these additional costs have been passed on to UK consumers through charges on a range of personal banking products, from current accounts and credit cards to savings and mortgages. It estimates that around 98% of consumers have been exposed to banks that listed cards on Apple Pay, potentially affecting the vast majority of the UK population.
While the payout for individual consumers may only amount to an average of £26, Daley emphasizes that the lawsuit is about more than just financial compensation. “It’s also important that big firms like Apple are held to account for this kind of anti-competitive behaviour,” he said. “The way it has run Apple Pay has quietly increased banking costs for consumers over many years. I want to put a stop to that – and secure compensation for the millions of people who have been affected.”
