this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I’m not really sure that’s a fair argument. Android generally pushes Google Play, and Samsung devices push Samsung pay. Sure, Android has more choices, but it’s still device manufacturers pushing their own products.

Of course Apple should allow competition within their ecosystem, but Samsung and Google are basically doing the exact same thing.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (25 children)

“Pushing” their services is one thing. Blocking access to the NFC, as Apple does with iPhones, is much worse. IMHO, neither should be permitted.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I mostly agree, but then I think about how I have a Samsung phone but can still use Google Wallet instead of Samsung Pay because it's an open ecosystem. They both push their own products, but the end user is ultimately able to use whatever product they want. This is clearly not the case for Apple, which is what I'm guessing the case is about.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

It has to be this. As a non apple device user, I can use ANY pay system EXCEPT Apple pay. You must own an apple device to use it. There might be some roundabout way on PC with iTunes, but even if there is, it's unaccessible on a phone.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

I definitely agree, all I meant is I think they should probably also be going after other companies as well.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

Android may push Google pay, but you can still use other options. Samsung pay, some banks have their own contactless payment apps. You have a choice, even if you are nudged in one direction.

On iOS there is no choice. You use apple pay or you use nothing.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

If we're following your argument, the logical conclusion would be fuck all of them. So there's no point in complaining when that's 1/3.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My argument is that we should be going after more than just Apple. Apple is clearly the most at fault here, but that shouldn’t excuse companies like Google and Samsung.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The head of the FTC gets a lot of flak from the elite enforcing antitrust laws. But they do get them eventually. They JUST started the Amazon antitrust filing and Google got hit with a suit over their Ads business.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Sept 27 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) was ordered on Wednesday to face a private antitrust lawsuit by payment card issuers accusing the company of thwarting competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said the plaintiffs could try to prove that Apple violated the federal Sherman antitrust law by enforcing a 100% monopoly over the domestic market for tap-and-pay wallets for iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"There are billions at stake so getting by the motion (to dismiss) largely intact was huge for the class."

They said Apple "coerces" people who use its smartphones, tablets and smart watches into using its own wallet for tap-and-pay transactions, unlike makers of Android-based devices that let people choose wallets such as Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

European Union antitrust regulators accused Apple in May 2022 of abusing its dominance in iOS devices and mobile wallets.


The original article contains 355 words, the summary contains 159 words. Saved 55%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

antitrust lawsuit by payment card issuers

This is to benefit payment card issuers, not users, and you probably don’t want their “innovation”.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

A well-deserved honor.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

~I thought there were third-party payment systems on the iPhone already (including ones using NFC)?

And even the convenience advantage Apple Pay enjoys should be gone on the 15 Pro at least as you can map your third-party payment app to the action button.~

EDIT: I stand corrected, see replies.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sadly not. Apple explicitly prevents payment apps from using the NFC. It’s blatantly anti-competitive and the DMA will soon open this up in the EU.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Nevermind then. I could've sworn I read somewhere that a bank on my country had their own payment system available on the iPhone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They might use a workaround. QR codes, barcodes, etc. Some banks have done this, but the user experience is poor.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

As blatantly anti-competitive as it may be, I don’t want to be in a position where, if I want to pay for something with my phone, I’m forced to use whatever shitty application my bank decides to implement (I’ve had banking applications just decide to stop working for a few days, for no apparent reason; there are banks that have countless applications, each doing something slightly different, with complex, oftentimes downright hostile authentication methods, involving combinations of these apps)

I like the fact that, regardless of card I use, they’re all exposed through the same simple Wallet application, that always works.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The big difference in such a situation is that you have the freedom to choose a different bank if their payment app is bad. You do not currently have the freedom to choose a different payment app on your iPhone. This is the fundamental issue the EU and US are addressing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I have the freedom to use a different phone at any time. I chose Apple because of a better user experience, better security and privacy

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For NFC, no one really does that even on Android even though NFC is available for use. Instead, in some countries they use QR-code payments to bypass the NFC limitations that Apple imposed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve seen that done in Germany, and I was kind of shocked. You could only pay using NFC from the banks’ app.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Man that's pretty stupid. I'm guessing they don't use Visa/Mastercard and instead use a proprietary protocol?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Nope Apple has NFC payments locked up in their garden

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

One of the uses of Apple Wallet is to auto-fill web payment forms. You use any credit card you want for a great user experience, and Apple is not charging anyone