Apple Pay Dispute over payment system: Apple escapes EU competition fine
The technology giant Apple escapes a heavy competition fine in its dispute with the EU Commission. The EU's competition watchdogs have accepted concessions from the US company, settling a dispute over the Apple Pay payment system that has been going on for years.
11.07.2024, 11:24
SDA
The iPhone company has granted other developers of mobile wallets and payment services free access to the NFC chip of its devices for contactless payments, according to a statement from the EU Commission in Brussels.
The Commission had accused Apple of deliberately hindering the competition in the field of mobile wallets. If, for example, banks want to make their cards usable for contactless payments on the iPhone, this was previously only possible via Apple Pay and Apple's own mobile wallet Wallet.
Banks have long criticized the fact that they cannot bypass Apple to access the NFC radio chip, which allows the phone to be used at the checkout instead of a bank card. Apple explained that Apple Pay was the only way to do this, citing security considerations among other things. The commitments offered by Apple are to remain in force for ten years.
If the EU Commission had not considered Apple's concessions to be sufficient, the company would probably have had to pay a heavy fine. If a company fails to comply with EU competition rules, the Commission can impose a fine of up to ten percent of annual turnover, among other things.
