Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by some Venmo, Cash App users against Apple

A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a consumer lawsuit accusing Apple of driving up fees at platforms such as Venmo and Cash App by prohibiting payment apps from implementing cryptocurrency transactions, reports Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria called the proposed class action “speculative” and said it “suffers from several fatal problems.” He gave the plaintiffs 21 days to amend their complaint.

In November 2023, Apple was sued by Venmo and Cash App customers in a proposed class action claiming the tech giant abused its market power to curb competition for mobile peer-to-peer payments, causing consumers to pay “rapidly inflating prices.”

Four consumers in New York, Hawaii, South Carolina and Georgia filed the lawsuit in San Jose, California, federal court. They alleged Apple violated U.S. antitrust law through its agreements with PayPal’s Venmo and Block’s Cash App. The lawsuit sought an injunction that could force Apple to divest or segregate its Apple Cash business.