Tech giants Google and Apple have payments businesses that have been steadily growing in importance to their bottom lines. But their payments plays are facing increasing legal pressures from other companies and government agencies. Google, after losing a court battle with Epic Games, is appealing a California court's finding that it maintained an illegal monopoly through its Android app store. The lawsuit targets Google's revenue from in-app purchases, where it takes a cut of up to 30%. Apple, mostly prevailing in a similar case with Epic Games, is now facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged tap-to-pay monopoly. A federal judge ordered Apple to face the suit, and the U.S. government is also interested in opening tap-to-pay access to rivals. Both tech giants may be compelled to allow in-app payments processing by competitors, potentially impacting their payments revenue.
Tech giants Google and Apple have payments businesses that have been steadily growing in importance to their bottom lines. But their payments plays are facing increasing legal pressures from other companies and government agencies. Google, after losing a court battle with Epic Games, is appealing a California court's finding that it maintained an illegal monopoly through its Android app store. The lawsuit targets Google's revenue from in-app purchases, where it takes a cut of up to 30%. Apple, mostly prevailing in a similar case with Epic Games, is now facing a class-action lawsuit over alleged tap-to-pay monopoly. A federal judge ordered Apple to face the suit, and the U.S. government is also interested in opening tap-to-pay access to rivals. Both tech giants may be compelled to allow in-app payments processing by competitors, potentially impacting their payments revenue.