The European Commission is preparing to launch legal proceedings against Apple and its mobile payment system, Apple Pay, which it considers anti-competitive.
NFC functionality is reserved for Apple Pay
Already in October, we learned that the payment system was in the sights of the European regulator. This time, it looks like the Commission is going all the way and suing Apple, according to the FinancialTimes who spoke to people familiar with the matter.
Apple achieves a record first quarter of 2022 thanks to its services
Currently, the NFC feature found on iPhones, which allows users to pay via their smartphone when making purchases, only works with Apple Pay. This is because NFC access to third-party apps is heavily restricted, with essential NFC modes for mobile payments being barred to app developers and other NFC operations often requiring the app to be in the foreground to function.
The fact that third-party applications cannot take advantage of the functionality is not to the liking of the European Commission, which considers this to be monopolistic behavior on the part of the Cupertino company. For its part, the latter ensures that full access to the NFC chip is limited in order to protect its customers against abuse or invasion of privacy.
However, this justification has not convinced European regulators, who should officially announce the launch of antitrust proceedings against the Apple brand this week.
Apple Pay allows iPhone owners to pay by card without pulling out their credit card. Photography: naipo.de / Unsplash
Apple’s monopolistic behavior is often targeted
This is not the first time that the Cupertino company has been targeted by the European Commission. In May 2021, she was charged with abuse of dominance following a Spotify complaint against her. According to the European Union, Apple has distorted competition in the music streaming market by abusing its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming applications via its App Store “.
The monopolistic behavior of the apple brand, especially within its application store, is subject to many controversies. In this context, the company has decided to lower the 30% tax it charges for all in-app purchases to 15% for small developers. However, this has not calmed the ardor of Apple’s opponents, with in particular the video game publisher Epic Games which faces it in a very eventful trial.
Cupertino’s practices within the App Store are also in the sights of the Dutch authorities. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has indeed asked the Silicon Valley giant to offer other means of payment for dating apps, but the latter has refused cooperation for several weeks, the resulting in a fine of 50 million euros.
European legislation will be strengthened
If Apple has the means to stand up to regulators, future European legislation may make it bend. Indeed, the Digital Markets Act has finally been approved by the whole of the European Union, and should make it possible to control the technological giants much better.
Moreover, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, strongly criticized the text, saying that it could present a danger for iPhone users in Europe.