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- For a long time, contactless payments via iPhone were limited to Apple Pay only
- However, thanks to pressure from the European Union, this restriction fell on the territory of the European Economic Area
- Apple made the change voluntarily to avoid potential antitrust litigation
For a long time, Apple has kept its ecosystem as closed as possible in order to have the maximum possible control over it and, therefore, the user experience. However, this closed-mindedness has become a thorn in the side of the European Union, which is gradually forcing Apple to make changes. As part of changes introduced in Europe in iOS 17.4, Apple gave third-party payment apps and banks direct access to the NFC chip, enabling payment options other than Apple Pay. The European Commission has, according to the agency approve Apple’s plan to make contactless payments available as early as next month.
Apple Pay will not have a monopoly on contactless payments
With access to NFC, banks and third-party payment apps can offer contactless payments directly on the iPhone without having to use the Wallet app or Apple Pay. This feature is available in the European Economic Area and allows users in the EU to set a different default payment app than Apple’s.
Apple Pay will no longer dominate the European Economic Area
The European Economic Area is the only area where Apple has made NFC available – developers in other countries are not so lucky. Customers will be able to use NFC-enabled apps from their banks and other payment service providers without Apple’s involvement.
Don’t overlook
Apple got caught by the European Union, has to pay a record fine
The Cupertino giant has long limited NFC access in the iPhone and other Apple devices primarily to payments through Apple Pay, preventing banks and other financial services from providing direct contactless payment solutions to their customers. Apple first announced plans to make NFC available to third-party developers in Europe in January, making the change to avoid antitrust proceedings from the European Commission. It accused Apple of restricting competition by preventing rival apps from accessing NFC.
Dominik Vlasak
Editor, traveler, fan of technology, Star Wars and good coffee.
