The European Commission will soon agree to Apple’s proposal to make the iPhone’s NFC chip available for alternative payment services in the EU. You need to know this.
NFC chip iPhone open for alternative payment services
Reuters recently reported that the European Commission approves Apple’s policy changes announced in January regarding access to the NFC chip on the iPhone. This should ensure more competition in the contactless payments market. The European Commission’s decision will be officially announced in the coming weeks.
Until now, Apple had tightly blocked access to the contactless NFC chip on the iPhone due to concerns about user experience, privacy and security. As a result, Apple Pay is still the only option for contactless payment on the iPhone, without any competition.
The change means that you will soon no longer have to rely on Apple Pay. You can also set other apps as the default payment app, if you want to pay contactless in a store. The relaxation of the policy only applies to apps that are available within the European Union, not worldwide.
App developers must apply for permission
The change puts an end to it research by the European Commission into Apple’s possible abuse of power by restricting NFC. Apple would limit innovation in using the phone as a wallet. On Android phones, the NFC chip has been usable for payment services other than Google’s for some time, but this is now changing on the iPhone.
But there are also some snags. App developers must request permission from Apple to receive these privileges. To qualify, they must meet several industry standards and also have the appropriate licenses to process consumer payments.
Do you want to stay up to date with all the Apple news? Please sign up for our daily/weekly newsletter. Additionally, download the free iphoned app and keep an eye on our website.
-
NFC chip iPhone open for alternative payment services from May
-
ViaPlay is becoming more expensive again – these are your alternatives
-
iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: these will be the biggest differences
-
‘No more FineWoven cases from Apple soon’
-
These 4 features coming to the iPhone SE 4 (iPhone News #16)