Currently, only one application, Apple Pay, can perform contactless payments on the iPhone using NFC, while third-party software is restricted from utilizing this feature, writes Bloomberg.
As per the decision of the European Commission, third-party applications will have the opportunity to freely use the NFC chip on the iPhone for contactless payments. This initiative was proposed by Apple to avoid significant antitrust fines and has a term of up to 10 years.
According to preliminary information, the changes will only affect software developed by companies within the European Economic Area (EEA), and only users whose Apple ID is registered in one of the EEA countries will have access to this functionality.
The antitrust investigation between the European Commission and Apple regarding restrictions on the use of NFC chip by third-party payment services on the iPhone was initiated back in 2022 and is ongoing.
The European regulator accuses the Cupertino company of intentionally restricting competition by using its dominant position in the payment system market for the iOS platform.
Earlier, we reported that Apple is continuing to work on 6G cellular technology.
