According to reports from Europe, the EU antitrust regulator will sue Apple for anti-competitive behavior related to its NFC chip technology. This may force Apple to open its mobile payment system to competitors. In June last year, the European Commission began an investigation into Apple Pay. This is the proprietary mobile payment solution on the iPhone and iPad. Apple prevents competitors from using NFC payments on the iPhone and Apple Watch. This is the potential competition issue that the company is currently facing. Moreover, the company pre-installs its proprietary payment platform in its devices.
Jason Gardner, CEO of California payment platform, Marqeta said: “Apple is indeed using the Apple Pay team to build a financial services giant”. The source said that the EU competition law enforcement agency is currently drafting a so-called objection statement, explaining its concerns, which is expected to be sent to Apple next year. This is one of many cases that the company will have to handle next year.
Gizchina News of the week
Apple to compensate buyers of refurbished gadgets with $95 million
A recent court document shows that Apple reached a $95 million settlement on Friday to settle a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Apple provides customers with refurbished and replacement equipment that violates the law. Apple’s repair terms and conditions in the United States stipulate that when providing services to customers’ products, “new or refurbish components or products that are equivalent to new products in terms of performance and reliability can be used”.
However, the plaintiff claims in the lawsuit that the refurbished or “remanufactured” equipment “is not equivalent to new equipment in terms of performance and reliability,” and therefore demanded that Apple compensate for the economic losses.
Relevant users include all U.S. residents who have purchased the AppleCare protection plan or AppleCare+. However, the purchase date must be on or after July 20, 2012. It does not matter whether the purchase is direct or through the iPhone upgrade program. Court documents show that if approved, the settlement fund will be evenly distributed among the group members. However, this will be based on the number of refurbished replacement equipment they receive.
After the attorney fee and other expenses, the group will still receive a substantial sum. This sum will be between $63.4 million to $68.1 million. Court documents also show that Apple “resolutely denies” that the refurbished equipment is of poor quality. However, considering the time and cost required to continue the trial, it chose to reach a settlement with the plaintiff. The plaintiff will seek court approval as soon as possible on or after October 20.
