Tap to Vipps works just like Apple Pay — image source: Vipps MobilePay
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Norwegian firm becomes first to take advantage of EU law requiring Apple to allow Apple Pay competitors to use iPhone NFC technology.
In compliance with the EU Digital Markets Act, Apple is adding an API so that competitors can use iPhone NFC technology in their digital wallets and banking apps. Now, Vipps MobilePay users in Norway can simply choose to use the service instead of Apple Pay.
“We’ve been fighting for years to be able to compete on an equal footing with Apple,” said Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay, in a blog post, “and it feels almost surreal that we’ve finally been able to launch our own solution.”
“It’s now going to be a very exciting battle between the world’s biggest brand and Vipps,” Garborg continued. “Being the first in the world to offer an alternative to Apple Pay on iPhone is a huge achievement for us.”
That battle will be about convincing users to switch from Apple Pay by default to Vipps. Garborg says users will switch because of the benefits of being able to use Tap with Vipps, whether they are customers of Norway’s SpareBank 1, DNB or more than 40 other local banks.
“We believe that Vipps users find it beneficial to only have one payment app,” Garborg said, “and finally be able to use Vipps in situations where they would normally use their plastic card.”
The new Tap with Vipps service will reportedly work on all card payment terminals that accept BankAxept, Norway’s national payment system. Vipps says it will add support for MasterCard and Visa before the summer.
While Vipps is the first Apple Pay alternative to be launched, there are other companies across the EU working to launch their own competing systems. Following the EU's push to open up NFC technology to competitors across Europe, Apple has begun to provide the same capability to developers in other regions, including the US.
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