EU wins again, forces Apple to open NFC 'tap and go' technology on iPhones to Third parties
The European Commission announces acceptance of Apple's commitment to open access to its NFC 'tap and go' technology on iPhones.
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| EU to monitor Apple's compliance for 10 years |
A win for consumers?
The conducted an investigation where the preliminary conclusion was that Apple abused its dominant position by refusing to supply the NFC input on iOS to competing mobile wallet developers while reserving access to Apple Pay. This has excluded Apple Pay's rivals from the market and has led to less innovation and choice for iPhone mobile wallet users. This behavior may breach Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which prohibits abuse of dominant position.
These new commitments address competition concerns relating to Apple's refusal to grant rivals access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with iPhones in stores.
Apple will now allow third-party mobile wallet developers to access the Near Field Communication technology on iOS devices to address EU antitrust concerns. Apple also has to apply a fair, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure and eligibility criteria to access the NFC technology by third-party mobile wallet app developers.
This means that Apple will allow users to easily set an HCE payment app as their default app for payments in stores and to use relevant functionalities such as a Field Detect, Double Click, and authentication tools like Touch ID, Face ID and device passcode.
This move opens up competition and enables consumers access to rival in-store mobile payments on iPhones. This effectively gives users in the European Economic Area to have more choice for secure and innovative mobile wallets.
The EU will monitor Apple's actions for ten years to ensure compliance and fair competition.
What do you guys think?
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