The preliminary finding could lead the EU to force Apple to open up access to the NFC chip on iPhones to third-party companies.
The European Union is calling out Apple Pay as anticompetitive for the way it allegedly stymies the growth of rival « tap and go » payment services on the iPhone. On Monday, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding that Apple « abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices. » « We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices, » European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. The antitrust finding centers on the iPhone’s near-field-communication ( NFC) chip, which is used to facilitate mobile payments to point-of-sale systems at retail stores.
