Financial services provider Competition Commission investigates NFC access on Apple devices
The Competition Commission (ComCo) is taking aim at the tech company Apple. The aim is to clarify whether the iPhone manufacturer's access to the NFC interface for Swiss app providers is "problematic under antitrust law", as the authority announced on Thursday.
11.12.2025, 11:31
SDA
Access to the NFC (Near Field Communication) and SE platform on iOS devices is used for payments, among other things. Providers such as Twint criticize that other app providers cannot effectively compete with Apple Pay for contactless payments with iOS devices in retail.
Differences to the EU regulation
Background: Apple denied third-party providers access to the NFC interface of iOS devices until 2024. On Android devices, however, this is freely available. Since July 2024, Apple has had to grant third-party providers free access to NFC technology on iOS devices for app providers from the EU.
Since then, the Competition Commission has been in contact with Apple to enable Swiss app providers to access the NFC interface on iOS devices. As a result, according to the authority, Apple has granted Swiss third-party app providers access to the NFC and SE platform since the end of 2024.
With the preliminary investigation announced today, the Competition Commission is now examining whether "the modalities of this granting of access, which differ from those in the EEA area, are in conformity with antitrust law". To this end, "findings from the markets" will continue to be collected.
Twint examines legal steps
Just a few days ago, it became known that the Swiss payment service Twint is considering legal action against the US tech company. This is because Apple's payment function - a double-click on the side button of the iPhone - only works in Switzerland if users have deposited their debit or credit card with Apple Pay, so the argument goes.
Other providers of digital payment solutions can therefore only access it for a fee. No local provider has agreed to this because of the costs. Twint is aware of other Swiss companies that are also interested in access, according to a report by "CH Media".
