Apple Commits to Opening NFC in EU
The European Union has accepted commitments from Apple to open its mobile payments system and give competitors access to the iPhone's NFC technology, bringing an end to a lengthy investigation by EU regulators into the technology.
According to the announcement, Apple has agreed to open up its payments system to other providers free of charge for a decade. Apple will let users set a third-party wallet app as their default, rather than its own Apple Wallet. It will also allow rivals full access to key iOS features, such as double click to launch wallet apps, along with Face ID, Touch ID, and passcodes for authentication.
As John Siracusa says, it’s unclear what this will mean in practice. Maybe the APIs will be unexpectedly limited or Apple will stonewall or reject apps that attempt to use them. And what happens after 10 years?
Previously:
- Digital Wallets and the “Only Apple Pay Does This” Mythology
- DMA Compliance: Default App Controls and NFC
- Proposed EU DMA: USB-C, Messaging, NFC
- EU Objects to Apple Limiting Third-Party Access to NFC
