Apple accused of stealing technology to create Apple Pay

Texas-based company Fintiv has sued Apple, accusing it of stealing trade secrets to create the Apple Pay payment service, Reuters writes.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta, Fintiv claims that key features of Apple Pay are based on technology from CorFire, a company it acquired in 2014.

Fintiv reported that back in 2011-2012, Apple held a series of meetings and signed non-disclosure agreements with CorFire, ostensibly to license its mobile payment technology. Instead, Apple allegedly poached some CorFire employees and used their development to launch Apple Pay in the US and other countries in 2014.

Fintiv also alleges that Apple acted as a participant in an illegal scheme, using Apple Pay to make money for major banks (e.g., JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America) and payment systems like Visa and Mastercard. The company calls this "corporate theft" and is seeking damages and a fine from Apple for violating U.S. trade secret and anti-fraud laws.

Fintiv's lawyer called Apple's actions one of the worst examples of corporate abuse he has seen in 45 years of practice. Apple has not yet commented.