Apple Pay operations in Russia were suspended last month as a part of the sanctions against the country since it invaded Ukraine. Now, a class-action lawsuit alleges that the country’s consumers have been harmed by losing access to Apple Pay.

To get you up to speed with the developments, the US and European Union levied sanctions against five Russian banks in February. As a part of this, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital wallet service were suspended in the country because they were of American origin. Subsequently, Apple stopped all sales on Russia’s online Apple Store and cut off the supply of its products to resellers in the country.

A report from RepublicWorld explains that representatives of the Chernyshov, Lukoyanov, and Partners (CLP) law firm have filed a case against Apple. The suit alleges that the iPhone maker’s “unilateral” shutdown of Apple Pay was “unjustified” and Russian consumers have been affected. Attorney Konstantin Lukoyanov told Russian news agency TASS that Apple’s actions need to be viewed as “intentional moral damage” to Russian users. The attorney added that the compensation for the damages caused to the affected consumers needs to be substantial as well.

Presently, the law firm is inviting Apple Pay users to join the class action if they believe they were affected by the stoppage of services.

Our Take

Although the suit alleges that Apple stopped offering Apple Pay to Russian consumers, it probably won’t succeed. This is because the company merely complied with the US government’s decision to levy sanctions on the Russian banks. There is little Apple would be able to do in the form of remedial action.

That said, Russian consumers are undoubtedly being inconvenienced by Apple Pay’s withdrawal of services. How do you think this lawsuit will unfold? Does the filing have merit? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.