.svg)
European Commission Fines Apple €1.8bn For Abusing App Store Dominance
The European Commission has fined Apple more than €1.8bn for abusing its dominant position in the distribution of music streaming apps and subscriptions to iOS devices users.
The commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers that prevent them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper subscription services available outside the app.
These restrictions applied by Apple violate “anti-steering provisions”, the commission found, which is illegal under EU antitrust rules.
Violations of the anti-steering provisions also lead to higher prices for consumers, the commission added.
IDEX To Launch Biometric Cards In UK Through Accomplish Financial
IDEX Biometrics has partnered with Accomplish Financial, a UK-based fintech, to launch a new line of biometric cards for the visually-impaired and other customers with special needs.
In a statement, IDEX said the launch is a response to the EU’s European Accessibility Act 2025, which requires businesses to introduce inclusive solutions for those with special needs.
“IDEX Biometrics is committed to bringing trusted biometric authentication solutions to everyone,” said Catharina Eklof, COO of IDEX Biometrics.
“Our collaboration with Accomplish brings to market a solution that makes it easier and more secure to pay for the visually- and memory-impaired, removing the obstacles of remembering PINs and avoiding the issue of ‘tap code to glass terminals’."
In the UK, there are 2m visually-impaired people and more than 1m people who suffer from dementia, IDEX added. The UK’s over-65 population is also 11m and growing.
World's Largest Healthcare Payment System Hit By Ransomware Attack
UnitedHealth Group, the world’s largest healthcare company, has confirmed that its payments subsidiary, Change Healthcare, has been hit by a ransomware attack.
On Friday (March 1), UnitedHealth said Change Healthcare is experiencing a “cybersecurity issue” perpetrated by threat actors who have identified themselves as ALPHV/Blackcat.
ALPHV/Blackcat is the name of both a family of ransomware products and the threat actors who exploit these products.
The outage caused by the attack has meant that 90 percent of pharmacies in the US have had to change how they process electronic payments.
UnitedHealth said it is now working with law enforcement and third-party consultants Mandiant and Palo Alto Networks to restore the Change Healthcare payment system.
“We are working on multiple approaches to restore the impacted environment and will not take any shortcuts or take any additional risk as we bring our systems back online,” the company said.
“We will continue to be proactive and aggressive with all our systems, and if we suspect any issue with the system, we will immediately take action and disconnect.”
Mastercard, KCB Partnership To Expand Payments Offering In East Africa
Mastercard has signed a new five-year partnership with KCB Bank Kenya to launch an expanded offering of card and non-card payments in East Africa.
Under the partnership, customers in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will have access to the Mastercard World and World Elite premium credit cards, in addition to corporate cards and youth prepaid cards.
Cardholders will also be able to make cross-border remittances, QR code payments and mobile tap-to-pay transactions.
Mastercard said the partnership will enable the two companies to “leapfrog” their way to financial inclusion targets among both consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
