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California Northern District Judge Jeffrey White partially denied<\/a> (PDF) Apple\u2019s request to dismiss a proposed federal class action lawsuit over Apple Pay, reports Reuters<\/em><\/a>. Three credit unions argued Apple violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by charging too much in processing fees and being too exclusionary by not letting other digital wallets access its NFC-scanning hardware.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The judge agreed with the credit unions\u2019 argument that because QR code payment apps (like Venmo) lack Apple Pay\u2019s convenience and functionality, and it’s too expensive to switch to Android, iOS tap-to-pay is a market unto itself. And Apple is the only player in a certain market that would have other competition if not for that little NFC reader detail that makes it a monopoly say the lawyers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lawyers representing the credit unions also claimed Apple Pay is \u201cunlawfully tied\u201d to Apple phones, tablets, and watches. Judge White also sided with Apple\u2019s argument that the claim fell flat because Apple Pay is free, and the company doesn\u2019t force people to use it. But overall, the judge writes that the claim that Apple has a monopoly is \u201cplausible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He agreed that the company charges \u201carbitrary and inflated fees\u201d for payment processing and wrote that the lack of competition in the iOS digital payments market is harmful to consumers. No NFC access for third-party apps sounds anticompetitive to Judge White. The EU deemed Apple Pay anticompetitive in a preliminary 2022 ruling<\/a>, also citing Apple\u2019s exclusionary use of the iPhone\u2019s NFC reader.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n