Apple Just Beat a Major Payments Conspiracy Lawsuit—Here’s What Happened

Today, when you buy anything online and use a credit or debit card, it’s almost always powered by either Visa or Mastercard. However, according to Mirage Wine & Spirits and other merchants, they alleged that Apple, Visa, and Mastercard were involved in a conspiracy to suppress competition in the payments network industry. However, the courts have sided against Apple, giving it a wins by dismissing the conspiracy lawsuit against it.

Apple wins payments conspiracy lawsuit

For those unfamiliar with the case, Mirage Wine & Spirits, along with other merchants, filed a lawsuit against Apple, Visa, and Mastercard. The retailers believed that Visa and Mastercard had allegedly “bribed” Apple. This was to ensure the Cupertino tech giant wouldn’t build its own rival payment network.

The merchants allege that Visa and Mastercard had made payments amounting to 0.15% on the value of all US credit transactions, and 0.5 cents on each US debit transaction. These were based on payments processed through Apple Pay on Visa and Mastercard networks. The merchants believed that this caused harm by limiting competitive pressure in the payments ecosystem.

However, the Southern District of Illinois ruled in Apple’s favor and dismissed the lawsuit against them. The courts say that the plaintiffs had failed to provide sufficient factual allegations to support their claim. It also suggested that the allegations were circumstantial and speculative. In fact, the judge pointed out language in the contract with Visa and Mastercard that Apple actually had the right to compete with them.

That being said, this isn’t completely over yet. This version of the lawsuit has been dismissed. However, the plaintiffs have 30 days to amend their complaint and refile it. If they don’t, the case will be dismissed with prejudice.

Apple’s history with payments

While Apple doesn’t exactly have its own payment network, the company has expressed interest in financial services. We’re not talking about Apple Pay here, but Apple Card.

Apple launched its own credit card called Apple Card back in 2019. It was launched in partnership with Apple and Goldman Sachs. The card exists in both digital and physical form. Users can use it with Apple Pay or use it as a physical card at retail locations that do not support Apple Pay. It is currently only available in the US.