Apple is facing a sweeping new lawsuit that accuses the company of stealing trade secrets to develop Apple Pay. The case has been brought by Fintiv, a digital payments startup, which alleges that Apple misappropriated confidential information during early partnership discussions and used it to launch its own competing digital wallet.
In public statements, Fintiv has described Apple Pay as a trillion-dollar “digital fence” built around stolen intellectual property, claiming that Apple then used its platform power to lock competitors out.
The core of the lawsuit claims Apple leveraged insider knowledge shared under NDA in 2010 to build Apple Pay, which launched in 2014. According to Fintiv, this included confidential designs for mobile wallet architecture, tokenization for security, and partner integration methods. The complaint further escalates its argument by invoking the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, claiming Apple systematically shut out competitors from the iPhone’s NFC system to create a monopoly.
Fintiv says that after initial talks with Apple broke down, the company used its dominant platform to roll out a competing solution and embedded it at the core of the iOS ecosystem. The lawsuit likens Apple Pay to a trillion-dollar fence for stolen wallet IP, alleging that Apple not only profited from this system but also restricted access to the iPhone’s NFC chip so rival wallet services could not fairly compete.
The company also alleges that Apple created a closed ecosystem that blocks third-party wallets from using key iPhone features such as tap-to-pay or lock screen access, creating an unfair market advantage. These claims are not new, as Apple has faced antitrust scrutiny in both the U.S. and EU for limiting NFC access on iPhones. However, the addition of trade secret misappropriation and RICO charges makes this lawsuit particularly significant.
Apple has not yet publicly commented on the case, and the claims have yet to be tested in court. But if upheld, this could represent one of the most serious legal challenges to the foundations of Apple Pay to date. Fintiv is seeking damages, injunctive relief, and an order to stop Apple from continuing to use what it claims is stolen technology.
(via Business Wire)
