Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about the Department of Justice’s anti-trust lawsuit against Apple.
Simon Taylor called it the “biggest thing in fintech since Visa/Plaid.” American Banker gave us a history of the battles between banks and Apple over the years. And TechCrunch had no less than six articles covering this development.
While the lawsuit itself is broad it does include some specific complaints about Apple’s massive financial business. Like with all things Apple, its financial offerings operate in a walled garden and that is the problem.
Apple Pay only works with the Apple digital wallet and third-party apps can’t even access the NFC chip. The EU opened an anti-trust investigation into Apple back in 2020 and has agreed to make some concessions.
In Europe, developers will soon have access to the NFC chip to build their own tap-to-pay services that can bypass Apple Wallet and Apple Pay. That opened the door for US regulators to act.
If Apple has a more open system in Europe, then U.S. consumers should enjoy the same benefits. That is at the heart of the DoJ complaint.
Apple shows no signs of slowing down in its push to add financial services features into the iPhone and its associated ecosystem. As digital financial services become more entrenched in our lives, it will be good for consumers to have access to products from a broad cross-section of vendors.
If the DoJ is successful, that will almost certainly come to pass.
Featured
By Ingrid Lunden
In its antitrust complaint against Apple and its iPhone business, the U.S. Justice Department takes aim against Apple’s financial business.
From Fintech Nexus
> AI as a credit union fraud-fighting tool
By Tony Zerucha
If AI is properly deployed, it improves credit unions’ fraud decisioning capabilities, Provenir’s EVP for North America Kathy Stares believes.
> Wisconsin becomes third state to pass an Earned Wage Access law
By Peter Renton
Earned Wage Access has specific legislation in Nevada, Missouri and now Wisconsin after the governor signed a new law this week.
Podcast
> Julie Szudarek, CEO of Self Financial on building credit
The CEO of Self Financial talks about the importance of building a good credit score, financial literacy and how a credit…
Also Making News
- USA: Banks Advocate Digital Payments as Defense Against Check Fraud
Despite the growing adoption of digital payment solutions worldwide, financial institutions continue to process billions of checks each year, setting the stage for a growing trend: check fraud. - USA: SBA critics pounce on setback for fintech participation in 7(a)
Funding Circle, one of the fintechs that received an SBLC license last fall, lost $5 million in 2023 and plans to focus on its U.K. operations. Republican skeptics of the SBA seized on this, and Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman’s renewed push for the agency to make direct loans. - USA: Digital wallets play key role in US lawsuit against Apple
The US has filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the firm of monopolising the smartphone market through a host of actions, including the blocking of third-party apps from offering contactless payments. - Global: Robinhood Co-Founder to Step Down as Creative Chief
Baiju Bhatt launched Robinhood with Vlad Tenev in 2013 and served as its co-chief executive until 2020, when he transitioned to chief creative officer. - Global: Culture Wars Risk Killing Fintech Board Diversity Progress
Despite consistent empirical evidence that diverse boards and companies perform better, a backlash of “anti-woke” sentiment is sweeping across the financial services.
To sponsor our newsletters and reach 180,000 fintech enthusiasts with your message, contact us here.
