Apple Payments service at risk in Europe due to NFC

Apple suffers from frequent monopoly issues, and perhaps its space war with Epic Games was proof of that. In addition, the company does not allow users to download apps from outside its store on iOS, which has led to the accusation of monopoly again.

Perhaps EU lawmakers are the most ruthless with Apple and others. They have also begun to focus on another service offered by the company, Apple Pay.

This is as the European Commission has opened an investigation into the Apple Payments service, based on allegations that the company supports its payments service and prefers it over the rest of the payment services by preventing access to the NFC chip built into iPhone phones, on which payment services depend.

Read also: Apple wants you to buy things without paying for them right away

This investigation was opened during the past year. But it appears that the results of the investigation are not in favor of the American giant, as the European Union Competition Law Enforcement Agency has reached its decision that Apple is accused of anti-competitive practices in relation to NFC chip technologies.

Accordingly, and according to reports, the European Commission has begun preparing its draft statement of objections. But until now, no one knows until now what will happen to Apple Pays, but the company may have to make the service available to competitors in some way.

Read also: iOS 14 brings a new way to pay and send money from iPhone

Apple’s use of NFC technology

As is well known, iPhones have an NFC chip dedicated to connecting to surrounding devices. But this segment has long been exclusive to the company’s services and products.

However, the feature has begun to be available through services and applications such as App Clips, CarPlay, and even the COVID-19 notification system. But in order for developers to use the NFC chip in iPhone phones, they must request “meritDirectly from Apple.

Read also: Apple rejects accusations of market domination

Even when developers had the necessary permissions, CoreNFC’s internal framework prevented support for any payment services and their various systems.

Although a large number of users do not use NFC features, they are really useful. Indeed, the company offers many applications and services to rely on. But on the other hand, any services related to payment or money transfer cannot easily obtain NFC permission, and instead Apple prefers its own Apple Wallet platform.

Read also: Apple begins accepting Apple Pay as a payment method in its digital services