Apple has reportedly settled an ongoing EU antitrust investigation into the way it controls access to its iPhone NFC payment system and avoided a potentially huge fine in the process. The EU took issue with the way that Apple was preventing other companies from using iPhone contactless payment systems outside of Apple Pay and the Wallet app.
Without an agreement, the EU could potentially have levied Apple with a sizable fine but that now appears to have been avoided.
The move means that Apple will open the door to third-party payment companies to use the NFC technology inside the iPhone to facilitate mobile payments for the first time.
All settled
The Financial Times reports that the European Commission had charged Apple with breaking competition laws back in 2022, arguing that the company was preventing competitors from offering iPhone contactless payments. The report says that regulators have now accepted changes that will see the charges dropped.
"These include providing developers with free access to its NFC technology on iOS devices and without having to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet," the report explains. "Brussels officials have been testing these measures, which Apple has offered to keep in place for a decade."
The report notes that Apple is still "ironing out final technical details" of how this will all work but a settlement is thought to be likely within a matter of weeks.
Apple has already had to make a number of changes to the iPhone and the App Store as a result of the Digital Markets Act. Apple has allowed third-party app stores to be installed in the European Union, for example, but there is no sign of similar capabilities coming to other parts of the world so far.
