The Financial Times reported on October 16 that Apple is preparing to fight a UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) push to let iPhone users pick a wallet other than Apple Pay for contactless payments, and may challenge it in court. The CMA has not yet published its proposals and must consult before imposing any requirement. Apple already charges developers for access to the iPhone's payment chip through its NFC & SE Platform, and the CMA says it has seen no UK product launches using it, citing high fees and technical differences as barriers, while the EU required free access for rival wallets. Apple does not report Apple Pay revenue separately, as it sits within Services, which grew from $68.43 billion in fiscal 2021 to $109.16 billion in fiscal 2025. The article says the direct impact on Apple's revenue is small, and the bigger risk lies in the precedent and in the fee and technical terms the CMA ultimately sets.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
AppleUKcard paymentsregulation
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
AAPL
• NeutralApple Inc.
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.0T |
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 343.46 |
| Change that session | +0.43% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- “Can’t Be Repeated”: Revolt Over Card Ban Blackout
Business groups are demanding an explanation for being kept in the dark for months about the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) plan to stop accepting credit card payments for tax bills. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the government learned of the possibility in July, and the ATO decided in late September to proceed after stakeholder feedback showed the two-month transition period was not enough. After an outcry from small business, the government will cover card payment fees until the end of the financial year. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said businesses learned of the change just hours before the ban took effect, calling the process a deficient policymaking approach that “cannot be repeated.” Industry Minister Tim Ayres said the government is unlikely to permanently reverse the ban.
- Bank of England Is Examining Whether Barclays Traders Misrepresented Private Credit Exposures , FT Reported :
The Bank of England is examining whether Barclays traders misrepresented illiquid private credit loans in a way that understated their risk, the Financial Times reported on Monday. A complaint from an insider to the PRA alleges that total return swaps referencing these loans were booked in Barclays' trading book rather than its banking book, which can understate risk and reduce the capital the bank must hold. The complaint also alleges the treatment breached PRA rules restricting derivatives backed by illiquid collateral in the trading book. Barclays said it takes its regulatory obligations seriously but would not discuss its interactions with regulators, and its shares fell 2.6% to 421.4 pence in early London trading. Investors will watch whether the PRA broadens its review to other lenders' swap books in a private credit market of roughly $2 trillion.
- UK Watchdog Proposes Strategic Market Status For Microsoft Business Software
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has proposed giving Microsoft 'strategic market status' in business software, which could lead to rules on how it bundles products such as Excel, Teams and Copilot. The CMA's investigation, opened in May, looked at software used by around 20 million people a month in Britain and found Microsoft holds a strong position, with barriers making it hard for customers to switch. Microsoft disagrees, saying all its products, including Copilot, are open and interoperable. The CMA will seek views and make a final decision by February, including whether customers can freely choose AI tools and whether rivals can compete with Copilot. If confirmed, Microsoft would be the third company under the UK's digital markets regime, after Google and Apple.
- Update: Microsoft's Business Software Proposed to Receive Increased UK Regulatory Scrutiny
- FinTech Global FS Regulatory Round - up - W / e 25 September 2026
This weekly regulatory roundup covers the TNFD’s final sector guidance for technology and communications, which includes a water-risk use case for semiconductor manufacturing and datacentres. The FCA published Handbook Notice 144 on cryptoassets, including a 10% cap on cryptoasset exchange traded notes held by retail funds and the removal of most approval notifications for cryptoasset promotions. FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi said the UK must move from experimentation to adoption of tokenisation, citing potential benefits of £33 billion a year for GDP and £14 billion in tax revenue, and a joint roadmap with the Bank of England is planned. The Bank of England also consulted on 2026/27 fees for recognised payment systems and specified service providers, with responses due by 22 October 2026, while the EBA published its response to the European Commission’s MiCAR review.
- UK regulator set to push Apple to open iPhone payment technology – report
Apple is reportedly preparing for a legal dispute with the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which plans to publish consultation proposals next week on Apple's position in contactless payments. According to the Financial Times, the CMA plans to argue that Apple holds unfair control over the UK 'tap-to-pay' market and will call for iOS changes that let iPhone users choose an alternative payment service as default instead of Apple Pay. The proposals follow Apple's 'strategic market status' designation under new digital competition rules, which carries penalties of up to 10% of global turnover, and complaints from lenders and fintechs about the 0.15% fee on credit card transactions made through Apple Pay. Apple restricts third-party access to the iPhone's NFC chip, citing user privacy and fraud prevention, and two people briefed on the matter said the company is likely to appeal.
Related markets
Latest news
- Winning over Vingroup and Sun Group with concrete and special materials: Vietnamese company's profit up 136%, chairman speaks out
Song Da Cao Cuong (SCL) reported Q3/2026 profit of VND 38 billion, up 136%, on net revenue of over VND 263 billion (up nearly 98%), while gross profit margin rose from about 36% to 41%. For the first nine months, revenue reached nearly VND 666 billion (up 81%) and after-tax profit nearly VND 94 billion, already exceeding more than 110% of its full-year profit target. Chairman Kieu Van Mat attributed the results to technology upgrades, production line optimization and capacity expansion, with several new plants expected to start operations by November 2026. The company said it spent more than two years testing its products before Vingroup accepted them; Vingroup's share of its business has fallen to about 25% as customers expanded to around 10 major groups and exports began to Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. Over the past two years, the company has invested about VND 1,000 billion in factories and technology.
- Coteccons Chairman Bolat Duisenov reveals new direction: expanding home construction for individual customers
At the annual general meeting on October 20, Coteccons (HoSE: CTD) set fiscal 2027 targets of VND 42,000 billion in revenue and VND 1,050 billion in after-tax profit, and said it is considering expanding into residential construction for individual customers (B2C). In fiscal 2026, net revenue reached VND 34,340 billion (up 38%, 115% of plan) and after-tax profit VND 788 billion (up 73%); new contract wins totaled VND 60,307 billion and backlog was about VND 70,000 billion. In the first quarter of the new fiscal year, the company booked revenue of VND 11,270 billion and profit of VND 306 billion, but new contract value of VND 14,519 billion was lower than a year earlier; the company said it is tightening criteria for selecting clients and projects. Coteccons is also working with Microsoft, is expected to become a strategic partner of Workday, and targets raising its ROE from 10% to 15-18% by 2030.
- UPS Yields 6.7% After Firing Amazon. Here's Whether the Dividend Survives 2027.
UPS shares yield 6.7% as of October 16. The company has moved away from high-volume, low-margin Amazon deliveries and froze its dividend earlier this year, ending a 16-year streak of increases. The article says the payout will likely remain frozen through 2026 and 2027, citing competition from 10- and 30-year Treasury yields above 5% and other industrial dividend payers, but calls the dividend's safety questionable: UPS generated $5.47 billion in free cash flow in 2025, with $5.4 billion going to dividends, and free cash flow is projected to fall to $5.05 billion in 2026 and $5.01 billion in 2027, with the dividend absorbing about 98% of 2026 free cash flow. Rising competition and high fuel prices add pressure, and the article suggests investors may find more safety in the industrial sector.
- Asian shares mostly decline after AI stocks lead a rebound on Wall Street
Asian shares mostly fell in cautious trading on Tuesday after AI-related stocks rebounded on Wall Street, while other sectors stayed shaky and oil prices stayed high. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% to 64,512.35 in early trading, South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.8%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq gained 1.1%, helped by Nvidia's 1.4% gain, while most stocks outside AI and tech fell and the Dow slipped 0.1%. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.14%, and U.S. crude rose to $103.50 a barrel and Brent to $109.47, as uncertainty about when the energy industry will return to normal after the war with Iran means oil is unlikely to ease soon.
- Asian shares mostly decline after AI stocks lead a rebound on Wall Street
Asian shares mostly fell in cautious trading Tuesday after AI-related stocks rebounded on Wall Street, while other sectors stayed shaky and oil prices remained high. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% to 64,512.35, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8% to 8,772.10, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.8% to 5,605.31. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq rallied 1.1%, helped by Nvidia, while the Dow fell 0.1%. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.14%, and U.S. crude rose 0.15% to $103.50 a barrel as uncertainty over the war with Iran kept oil prices elevated.
- What Could X-Energy (XE) Gain From Its 960MW Indiana Nuclear Project?
X-Energy (NasdaqGS:XE), American Electric Power and Amazon agreed to assess a 960 MW advanced nuclear project in Indiana using Xe-100 reactors, on a former coal plant site. Under the joint development agreement, Amazon would provide development funding and commit to a long-term power purchase. The article says the deal offers commercial validation for X-Energy's reactor platform rather than immediate financial relief, as the company, with a $4.3b market cap, reported $150.28 million in revenue, a $448.87 million loss, and a 20.2x price-to-sales ratio. The next key milestone is whether the study reaches a final investment decision for the Sullivan County site.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.