Vipps launches world’s first Apple Pay alternative in Norway following EU deal

Vipps, Norway’s leading mobile payment provider, has announced the world’s first Apple Pay alternative on the iPhone. Vipps MobilePay is now available for iPhone users in Norway following Apple’s agreement with the European Union earlier this year to allow banks and payment providers access to the iPhone’s NFC chip.

“We have fought for years to be able to compete on equal footing with Apple, and it feels almost surreal to finally be able to launch our very own solution. This will now be a very exciting battle between the world’s biggest brand and Vipps,” says Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay. 

Vipps says MobilePay supports SpareBank 1, DNB, and 40 other local Norwegian banks. Vipps MobilePay works with terminals that support BankAxept cards, Norway’s national payment system. Vipps also states that it plans to add Visa and Mastercard support to MobilePay before the summer of 2025. MobilePay support will further expand to Finland, Denmark, and Sweden next year.

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Users will be able to use Vipps MobilePay by double-clicking the iPhone’s Side button and authenticating with Face ID or a passcode, much like they would do with Apple Pay. Apple’s deal with the EU also allows users to set up third-party payment solutions as a default instead of the Wallet app and Apple Pay.

Contactless payments powered by the iPhone’s NFC chip can now be implemented with a different infrastructure and backend to Apple Pay or the Wallet app, and Vipps is the first to take advantage of this change. Banks and other Europe-based financial institutions can now implement third-party payment solutions on the iPhone. 

Apple says that third-party payment apps will be required to pass certain industry security standards, including up-to-date agreements with an approved Payment Service Provider in the European Economic Area (EEA).