Apple Pay Restrictions: It’s a EU Competition Case
The EU Commission considers the use of the NFC interface in the iPhone solely by Apple Pay to be an abuse of Apple’s dominant position in the markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices. This is considered an unfair benefit for Apple.
The EU Commission has sent Apple a statement of objections regarding Apple’s restrictions on access to mobile payment technologies. The statement takes the preliminary view as firstly, Apple has significant market power in the market for “smart mobile devices” and is dominant in the relevant mobile wallet markets and, and secondly, considering that this dominance restricts competition because only Apple Pay can use the NFC interfaces.
The fact that other competitors are excluded from the market inhibits innovation and reduces consumer choice, according to the EU Commission. If the EU Commission’s concerns are confirmed, this would constitute a violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position. How these provisions are to be implemented is set out in the EU Antitrust Regulation (Council Regulation No. 1/2003), which can also be applied by the competition authorities of the member states.
No decision has been taken yet.
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