What you need to know
- A class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple over the removal of Apple Pay support in Russia.
- Apple Pay is no longer available in Russia amid international sanctions.
- Apple has also stopped selling products and other services in the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
Russians are going after Apple over the removal of Apple Pay support.
Apple is facing a class action lawsuit over the suspension of Apple Pay services in Russia, according to a new report. Apple Pay support was paused in the country after the invasion of Ukraine. Apple also stopped selling products and other services in the country as part of the worldwide response to Moskow's aggression.
Apple removed support for Apple Pay in Russia at the end of February and now a lawsuit claims that the move needs to be considered as "intentional moral damage" to Russian users of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. RepublicWorld reports that the removal of Apple Pay support has now caused lawyers to claim a "substantial" payout from Apple.
Lawyers from Chernyshov, Lukoyanov and Partners (CLP) law firm are also asking other impacted Apple users to reach out.
Konstantin Lukoyanov told TASS that the law firm has decided to sue Apple as the rights of Russian consumers have been violated by the "unjustified" and "unilateral" shutdown of Apple Pay. According to the attorney, the move by the company needs to be considered as "intentional moral damage" to Russian users and owners of Apple devices. The attorney asserted that the recovery amount needs to be substantial for compensating the damage caused to the Russian consumers by the decision of Apple. As per the news report, the attorney further stated that anyone who thinks that their rights were violated by Apple's decision and it needs to be held "responsible" for its actions, can contact the law firm and join the lawsuit against the company.
However, the chances of this actually succeeding seem remote. Russia is under financial sanctions imposed by countries around the world, one of which is the United States. That means that Apple's removal of Apple Pay support isn't entirely its own doing and it wouldn't be able to reinstate it until given the go-ahead by its own government, regardless of what Russian lawyers want it to do.
Throughout the rest of the world, Apple Pay remains one of the best iPhone features to be added in recent years. Whether Russians get to use it again will very much depend on the actions of its own leaders rather than those of Apple.