Apple has managed to convince a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that accused the company of collaborating with Visa and Mastercard to stifle competition and receive ‘bribes’ for overcharging businesses. The case was brought by Illinois-based Mirage Wine & Spirits and other merchants, who claimed that Apple, Visa, and Mastercard formed an anti-competitive alliance to eliminate rivals while profiting from excessive fees. 
This conspiracy lawsuit, however, was thrown out by the Southern District of Illinois, granting a win to the three corporations.
Since the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, the company has used payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to process transactions. According to the plaintiffs, Apple’s partnerships with these companies helped maintain their monopoly on payments, ensuring no competition could thrive while Apple pocketed massive sums. The lawsuit argued that Apple was being compensated to avoid developing its own payment system and reducing dependence on these networks.
Another key aspect of the plaintiffs’ case focused on Apple’s NFC technology, claiming that the company’s tight control over tap-to-pay transactions stopped third-party payment solutions from entering the market, further solidifying Visa and Mastercard’s market dominance. Despite these accusations, the court ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to present any concrete evidence and that their claims were based purely on speculation.
The judge also pointed out the challenges of launching a payment network from the ground up, which was a key reason Apple hadn’t gone down that route. The plaintiffs also argued that fees of 0.15 percent for U.S. credit transactions and 0.5 cents for debit transactions via Apple Pay were discouraging innovation. However, the court found no solid evidence to back these claims either.
For now, the plaintiffs have been given an additional 30 days to amend their complaint and potentially refile the class action lawsuit. If they fail to meet this deadline, the case will be dismissed for good.