Banks Asked to Join Apple Pay Class-Action Suit

Plaintiffs in a federal class-action filed this month asked several U.S. banks to join their case in U.S. federal court, arguing Apple’s restrictions on near-field communication (NFC) and limits on alternative digital wallets steer contactless payments to Apple and reduce competition.

The petition seeks to add banks as plaintiffs to strengthen claims for unspecified damages and to support requests for court-ordered changes to Apple’s policies. Plaintiffs request that the court allow third-party wallet developers and financial institutions to access iPhone NFC on the same terms as Apple Pay.

Filings argue banks can provide direct evidence of lost interchange fees, disruptions to routing arrangements and the technical and contractual hurdles banks face when integrating with Apple’s platform. The complaint states banks were required to accept Apple Pay integration under terms that constrained competition and limited their ability to negotiate pricing and functionality.

Plaintiffs contend adding banks would broaden the pool of potential damages back to when Apple implemented NFC restrictions and would help quantify financial effects across the payments ecosystem.

Apple declined to comment on the filing and reiterated that it designs hardware and software with security and privacy protections it regards as central to user safety in contactless payments.

Legal analysts and the filings note that adding banks could change litigation dynamics by introducing parties that handle card processing and hold detailed data on transaction flows and fee structures. If the court permits banks to join, discovery could expand to internal bank communications, contracts with card networks and technical reports on attempts to integrate alternative wallet technology with Apple devices.

The case joins other legal and regulatory challenges to Apple’s control over software and services on its devices. The litigation is ongoing and the court has not scheduled a decision on the request to add banks as plaintiffs.