EU to Accuse Apple of Unfairly Blocking Third-Party Access to NFC Payment Technology on iPhone - MacRumors
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EU to Accuse Apple of Unfairly Blocking Third-Party Access to NFC Payment Technology on iPhone

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Apple will be accused of breaking EU law by unfairly limiting access of its mobile payment system on iPhone to third-party service providers, such as PayPal and Venmo, according to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Apple Tap to Pay iPhone
According to the report, Apple will be accused of "unfairly blocking groups such as PayPal and leading banks from accessing its mobile wallet system" by the European Union and could face heavy penalties if the accusation moves forward. In specific, the EU is taking issue with Apple's restriction of NFC technology on the iPhone, which Apple does not allow third-party app developers to access.

By limiting access to the NFC chip, services such as PayPal, Venmo, banks, and other financial providers, are unable to provide a similar experience to that of Apple Pay for iPhone users. Apple claims that its restrictions on NFC are in place as a safeguard for user privacy and security.

The new development from the EU comes as Apple faces increasing pressure to open its iPhone to third-party app stores and possibly make iMessage a cross-platform messaging service. New details this week of the "Digital Services Act" soon planned to make its way through the European Parliament and the European Council could force Apple to open its iPhones to other app stores and sideloading, a move that CEO Tim Cook warns would fundamentally change the iPhone.

Tags: Apple Pay, NFC

Top Rated Comments

F
FilipeTeixeira
51 months ago
This whole EU thing is starting to become ridiculous. To sum what has been happening lately, the EU wants to make Apple less secure and to strip them from one of the main reasons a lot of us opt for Apple, which is the safety and simplicity it brings.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
danakin Avatar
danakin
51 months ago
If your comment includes a suggestion Apple should leave the EU (or any other market) please use a font colour that matches the background.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
JBinATL
51 months ago
Perhaps the answer is for Apple to sell a european version of the iPhone. Give it an entirely different OS. They could call it “Android”.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sirdir Avatar
sirdir
51 months ago

This whole EU thing is starting to become ridiculous. To sum what has been happening lately, the EU wants to make Apple less secure and to strip them from one of the main reasons a lot of us opt for Apple, which is the safety and simplicity it brings.
Yeah, sure, everything Apple does is just about security. You can give others access to NFC while keeping things safe.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coredev Avatar
coredev
51 months ago
In combination these two requests to open up the iPhone are rather disturbing.
Having uncontrolled side loaded apps on the iPhone and providing an open API to the payment system is really not what I consider a safe system I would trust with my credit cards or bank account information.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4
44267547
51 months ago
Apple should just pull out of the EU altogether. It’s been nothing but problems and will continue likely to be until this happens. Cook should make it happen.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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