Joe Hindy / Android Authority
Summary
- Unsurprisingly, the EU is pleased with Apple’s concessions to open up NFC payments.
- Although the most important points had already been agreed, negotiations continued in response to third-party concerns.
- Even with mobile payments sorted, Apple still has a lot of work to do to achieve full compliance with the Digital Markets Act.
The European Commission and its passion for open access remain the most wonderful thorn in the side of Big Tech. Time and again, we have seen EU regulators hold some of the biggest companies on the planet to account for their anti-competitive practices and bend their will to the benefit of consumers. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), in particular, has been a real force for change, and its impact on everything from app stores The effect on search results is already being felt.
One of the many changes Apple has had to deal with as a result of the DMA is the requirement to open up NFC payment functionality on iPhones to third-party wallets, so that users are not forced to use Apple Pay. Today, the EC announced that it has accepted Apple’s revised commitments to address the Commission’s concerns by forcing the company to accept a binding agreement.
Apple had already agreed to many of the main points of this deal, and as we reported last month, it already looked like it was going to be a good time. Apple was going to make the EC happy In its statement today, the EC shares some of the additional points that Apple has agreed to in order to satisfy the concerns of affected parties. These include concessions such as allowing users to easily set default payment cards, removing some licensing requirements, and allowing developers to pre-build and market wallet solutions to other parties.
EC Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager shares the good news from the Commission:
It’s safe and convenient to pay with your phone. Apple has committed to allowing rivals to access the iPhone’s tap-and-go technology. Today’s decision makes Apple’s commitments binding. It opens up competition in this crucial sector by preventing Apple from excluding other mobile wallets from the iPhone ecosystem. Competitors will now be able to effectively compete with Apple Pay for iPhone mobile payments in stores. This will give consumers a wider range of secure and innovative mobile wallets to choose from.
Of course, this is just one battle in the EC’s war against anti-competitive competition, but there’s no sign of it backing down. If anything, 2024 has seen a reinvigorated Europe taking a stand against central platform service (CPS) providers like Apple and Google, particularly since the March deadline for DMA compliance passed. Apple may have let the EC take over this battle, but it may simply be saving energy for future battles.