Europe’s antitrust regulator has accused Apple of restricting rivals’ access to its payments technology, a move that could potentially force it to change how the company’s system works and expose the company to a hefty fine.
The European Commission said in a press release on Monday that it had “informed Apple of its preliminary view that it was abusing its dominant position in the markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices.”
The Statement of Objections that the Commission issued to Apple describes the alleged violations of European antitrust rules, but does not necessarily determine the final outcome of the investigation. Apple will have the opportunity to review and respond to the Commission’s findings.
The Commission wrote that it had found that Apple had restricted competition in the market for mobile wallets on its iPhone operating system by limiting the technology used for contactless payments, known as near-field communication ( NFC).
“In our Statement of Objections, we found on a preliminary basis that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own Apple Pay solution,” said Margrethe Vestager, Chief Competition Officer and Executive Vice President of Commission, in a press release. “If confirmed, such conduct would be unlawful under our competition rules. »
The Commission argued that Apple’s decision not to make its NFC technology available to third-party developers of mobile wallets “has an exclusionary effect on competitors and leads to less innovation and less choice for consumers to mobile wallets on iPhone”.
“Apple Pay is just one of many options available to European consumers to make payments, and has ensured equal access to NFC while setting industry-leading standards for privacy and security,” said a doorman. -says Apple in a statement. “We will continue to work with the Commission to ensure that European consumers have access to the payment option of their choice in a safe and secure environment. »
Apple has also expressed concern that changes to its payment system will lead to a less secure process.
The Commission separately probed Apple’s rules for developers who want to distribute apps on iOS. Europe also recently reached agreement on new rules under the Digital Markets Act that aim to curb the dominance of digital platforms that act as gatekeepers to key services.
US lawmakers also reviewed Apple’s treatment of app developers and proposed new rules that would require Apple and others to provide a more open environment for potential rivals seeking to distribute apps on their phones.
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