Apple Faces Fresh Regulatory Pressure Over Payments in Australia
Synopsis
Lawmakers have intensified calls to examine Apple's control of digital payments, arguing reforms are needed to boost competition and consumer choice.
Key Highlights
- The parliamentary committee came down hard on Apple recently, calling its payments practices “anti-competitive, opaque and complex.”
- Apple ACCC digital payments investigation Proposed by Committee.
- It also asked banks to fight back against Apple Pay fees and called for more competition in digital payments.
Australian parliamentary committee condemns Apple behaviour in digital payments as “anti-competitive, opaque and cumbersome” and urges ACCC to probe Apple’s market power, could become an important Apple ACCC digital payments investigation.
The report by the parliamentary committee into Apple payments, which is led by Labor backbencher, Ed Husic, says the regulator should also investigate whether Visa and Mastercard have market power.
Committee Targets Apple Pay Dominance
The committee said there needed to be more competition in Australia’s payments market and urged banks to push back on Apple Pay fees, including possibly by boycotting it.
The report also shed a light on concerns about Apple digital wallet monopoly and also called for further scrutiny of the company’s contribution to Australia’s digital payments landscape. Banks and payment providers could reduce the level of access to Apple Pay NFC, allowing greater competition and a wider range of alternatives for consumers in Australia.
Report Calls for Wider Action
The 146-page report includes a list of 16 recommendations designed to limit the market power of large multinationals operating in Australia’s financial services sector.
The committee also called out Shopify on self-preferencing and provided its ruling next to that of Apple, which stated that Google would not participate in the inquiry.
The recommendations are some of the most potent parliamentary interventions to Australia’s payments sector in years, and could pave the way for regulation over Apple Pay Australia.
Source: Capital Brief
Follow Inspirepreneur Magazine for daily global business news.
At Inspirepreneurs Magazine, covering entrepreneurship, business failures, and the human stories behind the world's most ambitious founders. She writes at the intersection of strategy and storytelling.
