Apple, Visa and Mastercard are facing a new class-action lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to stifle competition in the payment services industry by forcing retailers to pay inflated transaction fees. In this respect reports Reuters agency.
The case was filed in East St. Petersburg, Illinois (USA). It was filed in the court of St. Louis. The plaintiff was Mirage Wine & Spirits, a company that has a network of retail alcoholic beverage stores in the country. Mirage Wine & Spirits accuses Apple of entering into a criminal conspiracy with Visa and Mastercard to increase purchase fees.
Because the only payment service available on the iPhone and Apple Watch is Apple Pay, which only supports Visa and Mastercard cards, merchants are forced to pay inflated fees for transactions made using Apple technology due to alleged collusion. Mirage Wine & Spirits alleges that Visa and Mastercard pay Apple “hundreds of millions of dollars” in bribes each year to maintain anti-competitive terms.
The Mirage Wine & Spirits lawsuit is being filed on behalf of “thousands” of retailers.
Previously Apple suggested Unlock NFC on iPhone for Apple Pay alternatives.