The European Commission wants answers about Apple’s ejection of Epic Games from its App Store.
The commission (EC) has “requested further explanations” from the iPhone maker about the move, the Financial Times reported Thursday (March 7), the same day that Europe’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) went into effect for Apple and a number of other tech giants.
The news came one day after Apple blocked Epic — maker of the popular video game Fortnite — from getting a developer account that Epic had intended to use to launch a new app store on European iPhones.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said he sees Apple’s move as revenge for his company’s antitrust campaign and lawsuit against Apple, as well its criticism of the larger company’s App Store policies.
The two companies have been at odds since 2020 over Apple’s 30% commission fees, which prompted the lawsuit from Epic and subsequent policy adjustments by Apple.
Apple said it was within its right to block Epic from getting a developer account, citing the ongoing legal battles and past violations of contractual obligations.
App stores will be the first focus of the DMA, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said earlier this week.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Vestager said her priority is giving smaller app stores fair access to operating systems. She argued that it’s important that users can access more than one app store on their device so that if they are unhappy with one app store, they can choose another.
The landmark DMA is designed to counter market abuse by tech giants operating within the European Union, and covers these companies’ operating systems, app stores and platforms. The law allows for fines totaling up to 10% of a firm’s annual global revenue, or 20% in the case of repeat offenders.
The EC’s new investigation into Apple comes just days after the commission fined Apple a record $1.95 billion, accusing the company of restricting app developers from telling iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services.
“Apple’s conduct, which lasted for almost ten years, may have led many iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions because of the high commission fee imposed by Apple on developers and passed on to consumers in the form of higher subscription prices for the same service on the Apple App Store,” the EC said in a news release.
In a statement on its website, Apple said it planned to appeal the decision, and criticized what it called the EC’s “failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm.”
Vehicle reimbursement firm Motus has acquired mileage/expense tracking solution Everlance.
The deal, announced Wednesday (Feb. 19), is aimed at bolstering the firm’s ability to provide reimbursement solutions for every type of employee required to drive for their job.
“The success of so many organizations depends on employees driving their own cars as part of their jobs,” Motus CEO Phong Nguyen said in a news release. “For those businesses with sales teams, merchandisers, home healthcare or a host of other critical roles — it can be a struggle to gain the visibility and control they need to optimize reimbursement spend, mitigate risks, and bolster the productivity of all those employees on the road.”
By coming together, Nguyen added, the two companies can offer customers a better set mileage reimbursement, driver safety and training, and tax and compliance solutions.
Founded in 2015 by Alex Marlantes and Gabriel Garza, Everlance offers a “self-managed vehicle reimbursement solution” that the company says has helped more than 4 million drivers track their miles automatically, catalog expenses and maximize their take-home pay.
The acquisition combines Everlance’s mobile app and employee experience with Motus’ analytics and business intelligence, the release added.
The deal comes weeks after similar news from this field, with the announcement that TravelPerk had acquired Yokoy in an effort to create an integrated travel and expense management platform. That acquisition melds Yokoy’s spend management platform with TravelPerk’s business travel platform, letting TravelPerk offer customers a choice of localized solutions to meet their needs.
The two companies have been collaborating since 2020 to jointly offer travel and expense management to their customers.
In other expense management news, PYMNTS wrote last fall about the “revolution” going on in this field, one that’s often held back by outdated systems.
“For companies with extensive legacy systems, the transition to a modern B2B payment platform requires time, investment and operational overhaul,” that report said. “Legacy infrastructure, often built on fragmented systems and siloed data, cannot easily adapt to the real-time, integrated functionality that today’s expense management tools offer.”
The lack of flexibility in older systems leads to friction for businesses looking for seamless integration and transparency. Legacy payment rails, such as ACH and wire transfers, are often slower and offer less efficiency than emerging options like real-time payments.
“While new, AI-powered expense management tools can optimize internal processes, their impact is ultimately limited by the traditional payments infrastructure on which many incumbents still rely,” PYMNTS wrote.