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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Visa (NYSE:V) recently won dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit accusing the companies of colluding to block payment network competition and ratchet up merchant fees.
U.S. District Judge David Dugan ruled the plaintiffs’ claims lacked evidence, but allowed the suit to be amended to bolster their case.
The case, filed on behalf of thousands of merchants, claimed that Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) funneled hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to prevent it from launching a rival payment network. The alleged arrangement, according to the suit, kept transaction fees elevated for merchants.
Apple (AAPL) introduced Apple Pay in 2014, enabling iPhone users to make purchases using stored card details at participating merchants.
Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) had denied allegations of making payments to Apple (AAPL), Reuters reported, noting the V and MA’s agreements with the iPhone maker explicitly allowed Apple to compete with the networks.
The article added that Apple (AAPL) contended the suit lacked any evidence that it ever intended to build a competing payments network or challenge Visa (V) and Mastercard’s (MA) position in the market.
Separately, in April, Visa (V) reportedly offered Apple (AAPL) some $100M to switch its popular co-branded credit card to its payment network from Mastercard’s (MA).
In Thursday afternoon trading, V slipped 0.5%, MA edged down 0.3% and AAPL gained 0.5%.