Apple may have to make more changes to its NFC APIs
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In addition to changes in the law that meant Apple had to allow competing iPhone app stores in the EU, the region's digital markets law also meant the company was forced to support rival contactless payment systems. Apple is in the process of adding APIs that will allow competitors to use NFC in their banking and wallet apps.
According to The Times, Apple is still finalizing the technical details. Once that's done, UK firm Curve says it will be able to launch its Wallet competitor immediately.
When operating outside of London, the Curve digital wallet will only be available to customers in Europe.
“The new competitive digital wallet market will soon face true customer-centric innovation,” said Curve founder Shachar Bialik. A Curve spokesperson also said that switching to its service would save banks “millions of euros” that currently accrue to Apple.
Users will be able to completely replace Apple Wallet. This even extends to the way double-pressing the iPhone's side button brings up Curve instead of Apple's system.
Although Curve claims it will be the first to launch an alternative to Apple Wallet, other companies are reportedly working on the launch. These include Scandinavian firm Vipps MobilePay.
Curve is not particularly well known in the UK, but it reportedly has more than four million customers. It currently acts as an aggregator of bank and loyalty cards and claims that users spent about $4 billion through the platform in 2022.
Separately, the European Central Bank complained to the European Commission about Apple's support for competitors. use NFC. It says Apple continues to prohibit competitors from using the Secure Element of its NFC technology, meaning alternatives to Apple Pay will be slower and more burdensome for users.
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