Apple Pay to Be Regulated Like a Bank in the US: A New Era of Digital Payment Oversight

In a significant shift for the digital payments industry, Apple Pay, along with other major digital wallet services, will soon face federal regulation similar to traditional banks. This move follows the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) announcement of a new rule that ensures increased oversight of digital payment platforms.

What Does the New Rule Mean?

The new rule, finalized by the CFPB, extends federal oversight to digital payment platforms that process more than 50 million annual transactions in the United States. This includes widely used services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others, which will now be subject to the same regulatory standards as financial institutions.

This marks a major shift in how digital wallets and payment platforms are monitored and held accountable, with the goal of enhancing consumer protection and ensuring the security and transparency of digital transactions.

Why the Change?

As digital payment systems like Apple Pay become increasingly popular, handling billions of transactions each year, there has been growing concern about the need for stricter oversight. Unlike traditional banks, which are already heavily regulated, platforms like Apple Pay have operated with far fewer restrictions, leading to concerns about user privacy, security, and fairness.