Apple Steps Up its Lobbying Efforts in Mobile Payments
Apple is stepping up its lobbying efforts in the United States, with a good chunk of focus on the mobile payments front. A new report suggests that Apple’s putting a little more heat on Washington in a bid to get some new measures passed.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s spending on lobbyists in the first quarter of 2014 was $1.07 million. But for the first quarter of 2015, that number went up to $1.24 million. That’s up 16 percent on a year-to-year basis, and suggest that Apple’s going after several different fronts with its lobbying dollars, including taxation issues, consumer privacy, and not surprisingly, mobile payments.
The lobbying efforts may have helped; back in February, President Obama announced that—following a visit to Palo Alto—Apple Pay would have a link in various federal payment programs, including veterans’ benefits and even Social Security.
This also includes both the Direct Express payment system and government cards issued under GSA SmartPay provisions, a measure that actually handles around $26.4 billion in transactions annually.
In 2014, Apple spent a combined total of $4.1 million on lobbying, a figure which represented a company record. But considering that it’s already broken the first quarter’s mark in what would be a record year, it doesn’t look like that record’s going to last long.
Apple is not only looking to make the company more open, but is also looking into the release of products that will draw government scrutiny.
But even with Apple on a pace to set records, it’s still lagging behind competitors like Google, who in just the last quarter spent more than Apple did in all of 2014, shelling out $5.47 million on lobbying in just the first quarter of 2015.
It really shouldn’t surprise that Apple’s putting more into lobbying spending; perhaps the only part of this that’s really a surprise is just how long it took Apple to start spending heavily on lobbying efforts.
With a lobbying spend now in the multi-million dollar range, it’s clear Apple can swing quite a bit of weight, and it certainly has the cash to go after new legislation. It has more than enough areas to pursue—not quite as many as Google does, perhaps—but still plenty.
With issues like those already stated on Apple’s plate—privacy, taxes and mobile payments—Apple’s lobbying spend will likely continue to be robust. What caught my eye, though, was the idea that Apple has some new products ahead that may draw government attention. Apple and innovation have gone together for some time, but what does Apple have that might call in the government’s notice?
Only time will tell if Apple can outspend itself on 2015, or what impact exactly that spending will have. But it’s clear that Apple’s going to do its level best to get its opinions heard and its plans advanced in the halls of Washington, D.C., so it’s worth keeping an eye on for the future.