According to preliminary investigations by the EU Commission, the US company Apple is violating European competition regulations. The company is accused of restricting access to a standard technology for contactless payments with mobile devices and thus restricting competition in the field of mobile wallets in favor of its own Apple Pay solution, the authority said.
“Mobile payments are playing a rapidly growing role in our digital economy,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. For the integration of the European payment markets, it is important that consumers benefit from a competitive and innovative payment landscape. “We have evidence that Apple has restricted third-party access to key technologies required to develop competing mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices.”
So far, the Americans have refused to make the payment system, which works with the help of NFC short-wave technology, accessible to competitors. Apple now has the opportunity to comment on the complaints. If the competition authorities then stick to their assessment, the group could face a high fine. If companies breach EU competition rules, they risk fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover.
Another case is pending against Apple
Banks, among others, have long seen themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to contactless payments on the iPhone. Above all, they criticize the fact that Apple cannot access the NFC radio chip, which allows you to use the phone at the checkout instead of a bank card. Apple Pay is the only way to get access to the NFC chip on iPhones. Apple sees this as a technical solution to ensure payment security and ensures that anyone who wants access to Apple Pay will get it.
With the submission of the objections, the EU Commission is pushing ahead with further proceedings against Apple. Last year she had officially accused Apple of unfair competition in its app store on iPhone and iPad. Accordingly, Apple disadvantages other providers of music streaming apps and therefore has to fear a penalty.