According to the latest reports, Apple has proposed to open iPhone near-field communication, ApplePay’s core function, to other payment services to fend off antitrust claims from the European Union. The Reuters report on Tuesday had few details. The report cited "three people familiar with the matter" and did not discuss any background behind the alleged proposal.
The whole incident started in 2019. Four years ago, EU investigators asked payment companies to provide feedback on Apple Pay. They worry that Apple's decision to limit the iPhone's NFC chip to use with Apple Pay will hinder other companies from entering the mobile payments market.
The European Commission, which oversees EU antitrust law, accused Apple of anti-competitive behavior since it launched Apple Pay in 2015. Officials are convinced that Apple limiting the iPhone's built-in NFC chip to Apple Pay is the key to the problem.
In the EU, ApplePay is not the dominant mobile payment service, nor does Apple account for the majority of smartphone sales.
The EU is not the first government agency to take issue with Apple's handling of NFC on its devices. Shortly after ApplePay was launched, some prominent banks in Australia tried to boycott ApplePay in order to negotiate third-party use of NFC hardware in Apple devices.
However, the banks eventually backed down after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected their request for a boycott in 2017.
The EU is currently exploring other payment methods for mobile devices, such as QR codes and Bluetooth technology, as alternatives to Apple's NFC chip.