EU hits Apple with anti-trust charges over NFC mobile payment technology
Apple Pay is the only mobile wallet that has access to the NFC input on iOS
Antitrust regulators in the European Union have charged Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) with restricting rivals’ access to its Near-Field-Communication (NFC) chip technology which governs mobile payment applications.
The European Commission sent a charge sheet known as a statement of objections to Apple, detailing how the company had abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said, in the statement, “We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple's devices.”
“In our Statement of Objections, we preliminarily found that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its solution Apple Pay. If confirmed, such conduct would be illegal under our competition rules,” she elucidated.
