NFC on iPhone is mainly used for Apple Pay
0 Facebook Reddit
The European Commission intends to approve Apple's opening of the NFC platform for third-party mobile wallets as soon as May, which could help save the iPhone maker from a $40 billion fine.
In January, Apple agreed to open up its NFC hardware to any developer to make contactless payments. Months later, it emerged that European antitrust authorities were close to determining whether this was enough to clear Apple of its legal troubles.
The European Commission is expected to express its approval of Apple's work in the near future. People familiar with the project told Reuters that approval could happen as early as May.
If approved, it would help Apple avoid paying a hefty EU fine over allegations it was holding back competitors.
Access to avoid fines
The European Commission has been investigating Apple Pay since 2019 . At the time, it was believed that Apple may have acted anti-competitively by restricting Apple's NFC chip from accessing Apple Pay since 2015.
This limitation meant that third-party payment systems could not do this. I was using the same hardware and had no choice but to play with Apple and go through their payment system. At the time, it was believed that the lack of access meant there could be no real competition in NFC payments, at least not on Apple hardware.
By February 2023, Apple was defending itself against the Commission's charges to avoid a fine. If the EU finds Apple guilty of violating antitrust laws, it faces potentially significant fines.
This fine, which could amount to up to 10% of Apple's global annual turnover, could be valued at $40 billion.
In January 2024, Apple announced that it was making changes to iOS to comply with the new EU Digital Markets Act. As part of this, Apple was expected to introduce new APIs for using its NFC hardware, specifically targeting banking apps and wallets operating in the European Economic Area.
This access will allow banks to avoid the need to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet and therefore any potential transaction fees that Apple typically charges when using its services.
Apple was asked to make some small changes after the EU received feedback from competitors and Apple Pay customers. With Apple possibly still having to fine-tune its plans, sources in the report say the May approval could be delayed, but the Commission is aiming for it to happen by the summer.
Follow AppleInsider on Google News.
