Campaigner launches £1.5bn legal action in UK against Apple over wallet’s ‘hidden fees’

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondentJanuary 23, 2026 at 07:00 AM

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Financial campaigner James Daley has launched a £1.5 billion class action lawsuit against Apple in the UK, alleging anti-competitive practices related to Apple Pay. The lawsuit claims Apple blocked competition by making Apple Pay the only contactless payment option on iPhones for a decade, allowing them to charge hidden fees to banks. Daley argues these fees were passed on to all UK consumers, regardless of iPhone ownership, impacting an estimated 50 million people. Filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the lawsuit seeks to hold Apple accountable for allegedly inflating banking costs. Apple denies the allegations, stating Apple Pay is a secure payment method and that they don't charge consumers or merchants fees, adding that banks benefit from fraud reduction.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Competition Appeal Tribunal 50% Fairer Finance 50% Competition and Markets Authority 60% Payments Systems Regulator 60% UK ×370% Apple Pay ×680% James Daley ×490% Apple ×8100%

Keywords

apple pay 100% class action lawsuit 90% hidden fees 80% anti-competitive behavior 70% contactless payment 70% uk consumers 60% mobile wallet 60% competition appeal tribunal 50% fraud reduction 40%

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Negative

Score: -0.30

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Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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apple pay class action lawsuit hidden fees anti-competitive behavior contactless payment uk consumers mobile wallet competition appeal tribunal fraud reduction

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