Apple has offered to open up access to the iPhone’s NFC chip to rival mobile payments providers, “three people familiar with the matter” have told Reuters, “a move that could settle EU antitrust charges and stave off a possible hefty fine”... More
US law firm Hagens Berman has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple alleging that, by preventing mobile wallets other than Apple Pay using the NFC chip in iPhone and Apple Watch to enable contactless payments, the company is in breach of federal antitrust law... More
The European Parliament has adopted the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will obligate Apple, Google and other “gatekeeper” technology companies to allow app developers and third-party service providers access to device functionalities “such as near-field communication technology, secure elements and processors, authentication mechanisms and the software used to operate those technologies”... More
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
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
Ireland-based patent-holding company Aire Technology has filed a lawsuit against Apple over alleged infringement of patents relating to NFC and digital wallet technologies with the US District Court for the Western District of Texas... 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
An Australian parliamentary committee has held a public hearing at which it heard evidence from representatives of leading Australian banks, payment services providers and other financial bodies on regulatory issues including whether companies such as Apple should be mandated to allow third-party payment apps access to a smartphone’s NFC chip... 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 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 Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has opened an investigation into whether companies such as Apple are in breach of competition rules if they limit the access payments apps have to a smartphone’s NFC chip and restrict a user’s choice of contactless in-store payment method on that device... More
The European Union is to publish a report next week that will provide further information on the results of its investigation into Apple Pay and could lead to new legislation forcing Apple to provide more open access to the NFC chip in its devices, according to “documents obtained by Bloomberg”... More
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation “to assess whether Apple’s conduct in connection with Apple Pay violates EU competition rules”... More
The Competition Commission of India is looking into allegations that Google is unfairly promoting its mobile payments app in the country, “five sources familiar with the case” have told Reuters... More
Apple Pay “has attracted regulatory scrutiny” from the EU’s Competition Commission due to “several expressions of concern about the US tech giant’s mobile payment service,” Reuters reports... More
Apple Pay “has caught the eye of EU antitrust investigators, who have asked payment companies for feedback on the service,” regulatory risk specialist MLex reports... More
EU’s Vestager may investigate Apple Pay if there are formal complaints — Reuters — “EU regulators looked into Apple’s mobile payment service and found it was not market-dominant but they could review it again if they receive formal complaints, Europe’s antitrust chief said on Monday… Critics say that an NFC chip embedded in the Apple iPhone means that Apple Pay is automatically selected when an iPhone user pays for goods and services, barring rival payment methods.”
iPhone users are pestered to enroll in Apple Pay — Wall Street Journal — “Apple Inc is nagging iPhone users to enroll in its mobile payment service with a persistent red-circle badge. The strategy has worked with some, but is irritating others who say it is heavy-handed and exploits the tech giant’s clout in ways that could disadvantage rivals… Users who opt not to input credit card information for Apple Pay when setting up their phones now constantly see the red circle over their settings icon.”
Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections concerning access to bank account information by competing services — European Commission — “The European Commission can confirm that on 3 October 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in a few Member States concerning online access to bank account information by competing service providers… These alleged anti-competitive practices are aimed at excluding non-bank owned providers of financial services by preventing them from gaining access to bank customers’ account data, despite the fact that the respective customers have given their consent to such access.”