Apple has reportedly offered banks and financial providers in Europe the chance to access the near-field communication (NFC) system on the iPhone that powers Apple Pay, according to a new Reuters report.
The proposal would allow competitors to natively develop Apple Pay rivals on the iPhone using the device’s NFC chip, which so far has been limited to the company’s mobile contactless payment solution. The report notes that Apple is hoping to appease the European Union with this proposal after accusations of the Cupertino company monopolizing NFC payment access on the iPhone solely for the benefit of Apple Pay.
Last year, the EU formally accused Apple of deliberately preventing rivals from accessing the iPhone NFC system which made it nearly impossible to develop third-party Apple Pay competitors that can be used on Apple devices. Reuters adds that the European Commission will discuss Apple’s proposal with some European banks next month to determine whether to accept the offer, after which the Union will drop its Apple antitrust allegations.
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The report notes that Apple Pay is supported by over 2,500 banks in Europe, which means that the potential for a contactless payment system that rivals Apple’s is huge in the continent.
Apple Pay first launched in 2014 on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus before expanding to the Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. In addition to NFC contactless payments, Apple Pay can also be used for web and in-app purchases, which are authenticated with Touch ID or Face ID.
Apple Pay will also be available on Vision Pro and will be powered by the headset’s Optic ID iris scanning system.
