Can a Small Credit Union Take a Bite Out of Apple Pay's Fees?

Source: American Banker

A new lawsuit brought against Apple aims to erode the tech giant’s grasp on the mobile payments market currently held by Apple Pay.

On Monday, the $137 million-asset Affinity Credit Union in Des Moines, Iowa, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on claims that the California company unfairly charges card issuers .15% on credit transactions and 0.05% on debit while also preventing the use of competing mobile wallet offerings by those who use Apple devices, according to the official class action filing. 

It may seem like a monumental fight for such a small card issuer, but it echoes sentiments that banks and credit unions have expressed since Apple introduced its mobile wallet in 2014 (with one banker at the time calling Apple's terms "??the most one-sided agreement I have ever seen").

“Affinity is proud to represent other credit unions and banks challenging Apple’s behavior … Apple takes no risk but taxes every credit card transaction that uses Apple Pay, [whereas] Google and Samsung do not do that,” the credit union said in a prepared statement. “It is not fair.”