Apple is currently facing a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, by Fintiv, which accuses the tech giant of illicitly acquiring mobile wallet technology used to develop its payment service, Apple Pay.
Fintiv is has been providing patented digital solutions for merchant payments, cross-border transactions, and digital asset tokenisation, with more than 100 ecosystems deployed in over 35 countries.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The legal proceedings, initiated by Kasowitz on behalf of Fintiv, claim that Apple was involved in a pattern of criminal activities, including wire fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets.
These actions were allegedly part of a scheme to appropriate Fintiv’s mobile wallet technology, which has been a factor in the success and revenue generation of Apple Pay.
The lawsuit details that over a decade ago, Apple purportedly sought a business partnership with CorFire, Fintiv’s predecessor, under the guise of licencing their mobile wallet technology.
During 2011 and 2012, Apple is said to have attended meetings with CorFire, receiving confidential information under NDAs with the intention of forming a licencing agreement.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataContrary to this, the lawsuit alleges that Apple used this information for its own benefit, subsequently launching Apple Pay in 2014 with features that Fintiv claims were derived from CorFire’s technology.
Furthermore, the complaint accuses Apple of creating an enterprise with banks and payment networks to utilise the contested technology in processing Apple Pay transactions, resulting in substantial annual earnings for the involved parties.
The complaint alleged: “By modifying Apple Pay for use on four separate categories of its devices, Apple has repeated and compounded its theft by knowingly utilising Fintiv’s stolen technology in the hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and MacBooks it has sold worldwide.”
This legal challenge comes on the heels of a separate case that was dismissed last month, where Apple, Visa, and Mastercard were accused of engaging in anti-competitive payment practices.
According to the lawsuit, Apple allegedly received a “cash bribe” from Visa and Mastercard in exchange for not competing with them in the payment industry, resulting in transaction costs.
