Rabat – The EU Commission’s antitrust committee said it has informed Apple of a preliminary view on how the tech giant’s Apple Pay violates EU competition regulations.
In a statement on Monday, the EU Commission said that Apple “abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices.”
According to the Commission, the giant technology company has “restricted competition” in the mobile wallets market by “limiting access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores.”
Apple is enjoying substantial market power in the field as the sole mobile wallet solution that can access the necessary Near Field Communication (NFC) input on IOS, the Commission argued.
“Apple does not make it available to third-party app developers of mobile wallets,” it said, adding that such practices restrict competition by reserving access to NFC to technology to Apple Pay.
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager took to her Twitter to announce the EU’s objections to Apple’s practices.
“We are concerned that Apple may have illegally distorted competition in the market for mobile wallets on Apple devices,” she said, urging Apple to answer the EU’s concerns.
The EU Commission also cited the competition chef, saying that mobile payment “plays a rapidly growing role in our digital economy.”
“It is important for the integration of European Payments markets that consumers benefit from a competitive and innovative payments landscape,” the Commission noted, stressing that the EU has indications that Apple “restricted third-party access to key technology” that is essential to develop “rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices.”
Apple released its digital wallet Apple Pay in 2014, with the tech giant offering services that allow users to replace their physical credit cards and cash with its Apple Pay payments method.
Users can work with Apple Pay to make purchases through Safari from their Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
