Commission sends Statement of Objections to Apple over practices regarding Apple Pay

The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that it abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices.

By limiting access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores (‘Near-Field Communication (NFC)' or ‘tap and go'), Apple restricts competition in the mobile wallets market on iOS.

The Commission takes issue with the decision by Apple to prevent mobile wallets app developers, from accessing the necessary hardware and software (‘NFC input') on its devices, to the benefit of its own solution, Apple Pay.

The Commission preliminarily considers that Apple enjoys significant market power in the market for smart mobile devices and a dominant position on mobile wallet markets.

In particular, Apple Pay is the only mobile wallet solution that may access the necessary NFC input on iOS. Apple does not make it available to third-party app developers of mobile wallets. The NFC ‘tap and go' technology is embedded on Apple mobile devices for payments in stores. This technology enables communication between a mobile phone and payments terminals in stores. NFC is standardised, available in almost all payment terminals in stores and allows for the safest and most seamless mobile payments. Compared to other solutions, NFC offers a more seamless and more secure payment experience and enjoys wider acceptance in Europe.