EC Might Clear Apple's Tap-to-Pay Scheme

The European Commission is close to approving an Apple proposal to open its tap-to-pay technology to rivals. The EC could approve the plan as early as May, as Apple looks to avoid potential fines of up to 10% of its global annual turnover.

Apple was tasked with changing some of the terms after receiving feedback from customers and rivals. In May 2022, the regulator outlined a preliminary view Apple had abused its position by restricting rival mobile wallets on iOS devices. This year, the iPhone maker proposed offering third-party access to its NFC-based payment system through a set of APIs free of charge, offering developers the option to access the technology without using Apple’s own payment or wallet services.

Apple’s ten-year plan would include establishing an independent dispute settlement mechanism to review any decisions to block access to NFC, which would be reported to the EC. The company was fined €1.8 billion last month for alleged uncompetitive behavior towards music streaming service Spotify.