Apple Taking Wrongful Advantage, Sued By Venmo, Cash App Users For Peer-To-Peer Payment Fees

Apple has added one more antitrust issue to its list as four consumers of Venmo and Cash App announced a proposed class action suing the company.

What Happened The suit claims that Apple APPL is misusing its market power to stop competition for mobile peer-to-peer payments thereby causing consumers to pay "rapidly inflating prices." It adds that the consumer technology giant violated U.S. antitrust law through its agreements with PayPal's PYPL Venmo and Block's SQ Cash App.

The complaint said, “These agreements limit feature competition—and the price competition that would flow from it—marketwide, including by barring the incorporation of decentralized cryptocurrency technology within existing or new iOS Peer-to-Peer Payment apps.”

The plaintiffs seek injunctive relief that would stop Apple from continuing to enter and enforce its anti-competitive agreements which restrain iOS peer-to-peer payment market competitors and would-be entrants. It adds that Apple should segregate or divest its Apple Cash business to prevent further harm to consumers.

Decentralized payments enable iPhone users to send payments to each other without any intermediary and with transaction costs significantly lower than what Venmo, Cash App, and Apple finally charge to move money to and from bank accounts and credit cards. 

Other Lawsuits Against Apple In September 2023, a California judge ruled that Apple can be sued by payment card issuers for alleged anti-competitive practices related to the Apple Pay mobile wallet.

Also, Apple is seeking relief in the "Fortnite" video game maker, Epic Games case of challenging restrictions on in-app payment processing.

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