The European Commission has sent an official statement of objections to Apple laying out the reasons why it believes the company has “abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices” and is restricting competition by limiting third-party access to its NFC chip technology... More
The European Commission is expected to file antitrust charges against Apple over the company’s limitation of access to its NFC chip technology and mobile payment system next week, “four people with direct knowledge of the matter” have told the Financial Times... More
Residents of Vietnam will soon be able to store a digital vaccine passport on their Android or iOS device that enables border officials to verify an individual travelling abroad has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by scanning a QR code... More
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the European Council have provisionally agreed the text of a Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will obligate “gatekeeper” technology companies such as Apple and Google to “allow app developers fair access to the supplementary functionalities of smartphones (eg NFC chip)”... More
The European Commission is to launch a consultation prior to proposing legislation that will lay out the legal framework for the ongoing development and potential issuance of a digital euro by the European Central Bank (ECB)... More
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is seeking public funding to support its development of a unified payment system across Europe that would compete with US-based networks such as Visa and Mastercard, EPI chief executive Martina Weimert has said... More
The European Commission is preparing to file an antitrust charge against Apple over the company’s limitation of access to its NFC chip technology, “people familiar with the matter” have told Reuters... More
A “growing number” of Europeans would support the creation of national digital currencies with the specific aim of asserting “some monetary independence” from the European Union, according to a survey commissioned by Euronews... More
A research paper published by the University of Exeter in the UK identifies the lack of global standards as one of the key barriers to the successful implementation of digital and paper-based Covid-19 health status certificates worldwide... More
The governments of Germany and Spain have signed a memorandum of agreement to cooperate on the design, development and piloting of a cross-border digital identity ecosystem that will enable citizens to verify their identity and access digital services in both countries... More
The European Central Bank (ECB) has officially launched its digital euro project with a two-year investigation into key issues regarding the design, distribution and use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is calling for amendments to current European Union legislation in order to ensure companies such as Apple provide payment apps with access to a smartphone’s NFC chip to give users a choice of in-store payment methods on their device... More
The European Union’s Digital Covid Certificate is now live across the EU as well as in non-member states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, enabling residents to be issued with a proof of their Covid-19 vaccination status, negative Covid test result or recovery from the illness that is recognised regionwide... More
The European Union has confirmed that it plans to introduce an EU-wide digital wallet that will enable all EU citizens to link their national digital identity with other personal attributes including their driving licence, diplomas and bank account details and store them on their mobile phone... More
Seven European countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Poland — have begun issuing the European Union’s Digital Covid Certificate one month ahead of the full 1 July rollout announced last week... More
The European Union is set to reveal plans for a digital wallet that will enable citizens in all 27 member states to store identity documents such as their driving licence, payment details and passwords and to access a range of private and public services with a single online ID, according to a report in the Financial Times... More
The European Union’s proposed digital Covid certificate that will enable EU residents to confirm that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the illness is “well on track to be ready by the end of June”, according to the European Commission... More
The European Commission’s investigation into Apple Pay is “moving ahead on top of an investigation into how the iPhone maker requires software developers to use its in-app purchasing system”, the EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has told Bloomberg News... More
The European Council has endorsed plans to introduce a fully integrated retail payment system that will enable instant cross-border payments and financial transfers throughout the European Union... More
European Union residents will be able to confirm that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the illness using an EU-wide Digital Green Certificate by the summer, according to a legislative proposal issued by the European Commission... More