Apple Ends EU Antitrust Investigation By Opening the iPhone’s Tap-to-Pay Tech

The European Commission announced today that it’s closing its investigation into Apple’s mobile wallet technology for the iPhone, which the EU regulator found to be preventing other developers from offering alternatives to Apple Pay on the iPhone. The EU Commission said that it has accepted the set of remedies Apple offered to the Commission earlier this year, which will allow other mobile wallet developers in the EU to access the iPhone’s NFC-based tap-to-pay technology.

The EU Commission first sent a Statement of Objections to Apple regarding its mobile wallet solution back in May 2022. At the time, the Commission pointed out that iPhone users could only use their device’s ‘tap and go’ function with Apple Pay, as other mobile wallets couldn’t access the iPhone’s NFC chip. In its preliminary findings, the EU regulator pointed out that Apple’s tight control over contactless payments on the iPhone was illegal under EU competition rules and damaging competition in the region.

Apple previously used the security argument to protect its walled garden, as it did with its App Store until the Digital Markets Act forced the company to allow alternative app marketplaces and app sideloading in the EU. Well, as the DMA also requires companies designated as “gatekeepers” to open up access to NFC technology for mobile payments, Apple couldn’t really refuse to change to how contactless payments work on the iPhone.

Here are the three remedies Apple offered to the EU Commission:

• Developers of third-party wallets in the EU will get access to the iPhone’s NFC chip free of charge.
• iPhone users in the EU will be able to double-click the side button of their devices to open their preferred mobile wallets, which will also be able to use Face ID, Touch ID, and passcodes to verify users’ identities.
• iPhone users in the EU will get to choose another default mobile wallet than Apple Pay.

“Thanks to these commitments, iPhone users will be able to use their preferred mobile wallet for payments in stores. They will be able to do so while enjoying all the iPhone’s functionalities, including tap-and-go, Double-Click and FaceID,” the EU Commission said today.
Apple has until July 25 to implement these changes into iOS, which will be applicable for 10 years.

Even though Apple made some concessions to close this antitrust investigation in the EU, the company still very much remains in the European Commission’s crosshairs. Last month, the EU regulator said that Apple’s steering rules for the App Store were not compliant with the Digital Markets Act. Lastly, the Commission also opened a new investigation into Apple’s new business terms for iOS apps in the EU.