Apple is opening up its NFC APIs to rivals in the EU
The European Union has formally accepted Apple’s response to its antitrust concerns over Apple Pay, and iPhones will now allow rival firms to use the technology.
The EU says that the time was spent testing Apple’s commitments, and consulting with rivals over them. After some adjustments, the EU has now accepted Apple’s commitments, and is making them legally binding for the next ten years.
“Apple has committed to allow rivals to access the ‘tap and go’ technology of iPhones,” said antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, in a statement. “Today’s decision makes Apple’ commitments binding. It opens up competition in this crucial sector, by preventing Apple from excluding other mobile wallets from the iPhone’s ecosystem.”
“From now on, competitors will be able to effectively compete with Apple Pay for mobile payments with the iPhone in shops,” she considered. “So consumers will have a wider range of safe and innovative mobile wallets to choose from.”
In short, iPhone users in the EU will be able to replace Apple Pay and Apple’s Wallet with offerings from other firms. In May 2024, the London-based digital wallet firm Curve said that it was only waiting for the EU to resolve final technical details before launching its alternative payment system on iPhones Europe-wide.
