A lawsuit has been filed against Apple accusing the iPhone maker of “illegally profiting” from payment card issuers through its Apple Pay policies, allegedly taking up to $1 billion a year in fees in breach of federal anti-trust law.
The lawsuit, filed in California on Monday, also accuses Apple of denying rivals access to the technology needed to develop a competing mobile wallet.
It said Apple “unlawfully” linked two of its products — mobile devices and its proprietary mobile wallet — compelling users to exclusively use Apple Pay and foreclosing rival tap-and-pay options, law firms Hagens Berman and Sperling & Slater said in the suit.
While payment card issuers pay nothing when their cardholders use rival Android wallets and other contactless cards, “Apple rakes in billions of dollars from fees from tap-and-pay payments on its platform”.
Apple Pay, the Californian company’s mobile wallet solution on iPhones and iPads, enables payments in shops and online.
“When you compare the functionality of Apple Pay to mobile wallets available on Android devices — Google Pay, Samsung Pay — you’re essentially holding up a mirror … they are essentially identical,” Hagens Berman’s co-founder and managing partner Steve Berman said.
“And yet, the same service on Android that card issuers pay absolutely nothing for costs them a collective $1bn annually through Apple Pay.
“The reason for this is simple … there is competition on Android devices, with multiple wallets offering contactless payments, whereas Apple has barred all rivals, making Apple Pay the only option."
Whenever an Apple Pay transaction is completed on a US issuer’s card, the issuer must pay Apple a fee — 15 basis points on credit and 0.5 cents on debit, according to Hagens Berman.
These fees reportedly generate Apple $1bn a year, and this same service on Android wallets costs payment card issuers nothing.
This revenue stream is predicted to quadruple by next year, the law firm said.
There is competition on Android devices, with multiple wallets offering contactless payments, whereas Apple has barred all rivals, making Apple Pay the only option
Steve Berman,
Hagens Berman’s co-founder and managing partner
“On the surface, Apple Pay’s fees pushed on to card issuers may seem small, but truly the devil is in the details of Apple’s policies and these fees add up, big time,” Mr Berman said.
The lawsuit has sought Apple to reimburse payment card issuers who have been charged Apple Pay’s fees and demanded injunctive relief to end the company's policies.
In a similar case in May, the EU hit Apple with anti-trust charges for abusing its dominant position in the mobile wallets market by restricting competition.
The 27-nation bloc's executive arm, the European Commission, said Apple had restricted competition in the mobile wallets market by limiting third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on its devices.
A mobile or digital wallet stores users’ credit and debit card information, and links it to a payment gateway to allow purchases at a point of sale.
As with credit cards, they only work at merchants that accept them.
Google was the first major company to launch a mobile wallet, in 2011. Today, consumers have a number of digital wallets to choose from, including Samsung Pay, PayPal and Apple Pay.
Consumer spending through digital wallets is expected to reach more than $10 trillion in 2025 — up from $5.5tn in 2020, a 2021 report by Juniper Research in the UK showed.
This is the third time Hagens Berman has sued the Cupertino-based company for anti-trust matters.
In 2015, it secured a combined $560 million settlement against Apple and publishing companies regarding price-fixing of e-books.
Earlier this year, the firm achieved a $100m settlement on behalf of iOS developers who were harmed by Apple’s stifling App Store policies.
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
