Apple refines all the details to allow its rivals to use NFC in its banking and wallet applications!
In a significant move toward opening up its ecosystem, Apple announced in December 2023 that it will allow third parties to access NFC technology on its devices. In this context, The British firm Curve will be the first complete alternative to Apple Walletonce Apple fully complies with the release that restricted the use of the NFC chip to its own payment system.
To accept other payment alternatives, Apple is in the process of adding APIs to allow rivals to use NFC in their banking and wallet apps. According to The TimesOnce the technical details are finalized, Curve will be available to EU customers.
Curve will be the first alternative to Apple Pay to reach the iPhone
The proposal of The company includes the development of an API that will allow other developers to access the NFC chip and use this technology for a variety of applicationssuch as contactless payments, access control and other innovative uses.
So, Users will be able to perform actions such as double-pressing the iPhone’s side button to use Curve instead of Apple’s system.
Given the imminent arrival of Curve, andThe company’s founder, Shachar Bialick, stated to The Times:
“The new competitive digital wallet market is about to experience true customer-centric innovation.”
Likewise, a Curve spokesperson also stated that Switching to their service will save banks “millions of euros” that currently go to Apple.
Curve is a company based in the United Kingdom that has four million customers in that region. At the moment, works as a bank and loyalty card aggregatorand claims that users spent approximately $4 billion through its platform in 2022.
Although Curve will be the first alternative in Apple Wallet, other companies such as the Nordic firm Vipps MobilePayare working to follow this path.
After a lengthy investigation by the European Commission, which has been examining possible anti-competitive practices related to Apple’s exclusive control over NFC on its iOS devices, the company with the bitten apple was forced to give in.
Until now, Apple had restricted the use of the NFC chip to its own payment systemApple Pay, which prevented competitors from offering contactless payment services on equal terms.
Starting with the release of iOS 17.4, Apple also made a historic change, allowing rival iPhone app stores in the EU.
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