Apple to open iPhone NFC in Europe to third-party wallet apps
Apple has been the subject of investigation by various European entities in recent years and This has forced Apple to make historic decisionsOne of them has been to open up the iPhone to third-party app stores, and another is going to be to allow competition from Apple Pay. In other words, to open up the iPhone’s NFC chip.
And it seems that Apple has officially committed to Europe to do so as The European Commission has announced that Apple has agreed to open its payment system to other providers for free for a decade. Apple will allow users to set a third-party wallet app as their default app instead of its own Apple Wallet, similar to what it does with web browsers.
The company also will allow rivals full access to so-called “key iOS features”such as double-clicking the side button to launch the wallet app or using Face ID and Touch ID as identification modes.
Today, the Commission has decided to accept the commitments offered by Apple. These commitments address our preliminary concerns that Apple may have unlawfully restricted competition for mobile wallets on iPhones.
Apple to open up NFC on iPhones to create alternatives to Apple Pay
According to the European Commission, in its investigation into Apple it reached three main conclusions:
- Apple occupies a significant position in the smart mobile device market.
- Apple is dominant in the market for NFC and mobile wallet features for iPhones.
- Apple refused to give access to NFC technology in the iPhone to rival wallet developers. Instead, Apple reserved the use of NFC technology in the iPhone to its own mobile wallet solution.
According to reports, found that Apple unfairly protected its own mobile walletApple Pay, from the competition, so the company abused its dominant position by excluding competitors from the market, which may have had a negative impact on innovation. The commission spoke with banks, app developers, card issuers and financial associations and asked Apple to change its policies. Something that the Californian company has agreed to.
The commitments bring significant changes to the way Apple operates in Europe for the benefit of competitors and customers.
First, Apple is committed to providing third-party mobile wallets with access to NFC functionality. This access will be free of charge.
It will be implemented in what is called “host card emulation mode.” This is a software solution that allows rival wallets to make secure NFC payments. Apple Pay, on the other hand, relies on access to the hardware “secure element” in the iPhone. We welcome Apple’s compromise because it offers an equivalent solution in terms of security and user experience. And it is easier to implement for both Apple developers and wallet developers. In fact, other wallets already use this solution in an Android environment.
Second, Apple has committed to enabling access to key features available on iPhones. This includes double-click and Face ID. iPhone users will be able to double-click the side button on their iPhones to launch their preferred payment app. Competing wallets will also be able to use Face ID, Touch ID, and passcode to verify users’ identities.
Thirdly, Apple will also allow users to make the wallet of their choice the default option on their iPhones. This is also known as setting the default option.
These commitments apply to registered users in the European Economic Area, even when they travel abroad. And Apple won’t prevent developers from combining NFC payments with other use cases — for example, transit cards, access control, concert tickets and digital identity credentials. All the things you might have in a wallet.
Apple has until July 25th to implement these changes. From this date, developers will be able to offer a mobile wallet app on the iPhone with the same experience that has until now been reserved for Apple Pay.
This is a major change, The Wallet app has been the only one for years where users could store their cards to pay with NFC from the iPhone. Something that will change very soon on European iPhones. It even seems that there are already alternatives to Apple Pay ready to be launched.
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