Dispute over Apple Pay

Penalty escaped: Apple opens access to NFC chips

Apple granted developers of mobile wallets and payment services free access to the NFC chip of its devices for contactless payments.

(Bild: Apple)

Apple escapes a heavy competition fine in its dispute with the EU Commission. The competition authorities in Brussels have accepted concessions from the US company, thereby settling a dispute over the Apple Pay payment system that has been going on for years.

The Commission had accused Apple of purposefully hindering competition in the mobile wallet sector. If, for example, banks want to make their cards usable for contactless payment on the iPhone, this was previously only possible via Apple Pay and Apple's own mobile wallet Wallet.

Access to NFC chip
However, according to the Brussels authority, the concessions made by the US company have now dispelled the antitrust concerns. The iPhone company has therefore granted other developers of mobile wallets and payment services free access to the NFC chip of its devices for contactless payments.

Banks have long criticized the fact that they cannot bypass Apple to access the NFC radio chip, which allows the iPhone to be used at the checkout instead of a bank card. Apple explained that Apple Pay was the only way to do this with security considerations, among other things. The commitments offered by Apple are to remain in force for ten years.

Billions in fines escaped
If the EU Commission had not considered Apple's concessions to be sufficient, the company would probably have had to pay a billion-euro fine. If a company fails to comply with EU competition rules, the Commission can impose a fine of up to ten percent of its annual turnover, among other things.