A new accusation for Apple by the European authorities. This time, NFC chip technology would be in the antitrust crosshairs.
Apple blamed for NFC chips
The fight between Cupertino and the European authorities does not seem to have subsided. According to reports from the portal reuters.com, the EU antitrust is allegedly making accusations about the technology chip NFC from Apple. The latter may not only have to pay significant fines, but also have to change access to their ApplePay payment system. The issue now dates back to June 2020, when Margrethe Vestager, head of the antitrust of the European Union, began to investigate the payment system of the American giant.
The concerns now are mostly about the NFC chip. This allows tap-and-go payments on the iPhone, and is exclusive to Apple’s payment systems. This exclusivity would guarantee the American company an advantage over its competitors, violating the cardinal principles of competitiveness.
According to reuters.com, European authorities are preparing a debit note that will be sent to Tim Cook’s company within the next year. It is difficult to assess the amount of the fine, but a figure can be estimated around € 27.4 billion. NFC-enabled payments have grown in popularity mainly due to the pandemic. According to some analysts, Apple Pay’s broad reach gives it a competitive edge over rivals.
South Korea, Germany and the Netherlands: different authorities are investigating
The payment system of the Big Bitten Apple has not only made the European authorities turn up their noses. In fact the South Korea approved a bill on the issue just last month. This prohibits major app store operators, including Apple, from forcing software developers to use their own payment systems.
Germany also passed a law in 2019 requiring Apple to open its mobile payment system to rivals at reasonable prices. In the same year, the Dutch competition authority also launched an investigation into the App Store. The focus, in that case, was the imposition of a 30% commission for app developers.