Apple's tap-and-go tech launch to be approved by EU

Following this announcement, Apple’s offer to open its tap-to-go mobile payments system is expected to be approved by May 2024, after it meets some of the needed regulatory terms and conditions. 

In addition, according to Reuters , the company’s bit to settle investigation is set to optimise the manner in which it dodges a finding of wrongdoing, as well as avoid a potential fine that could be as much as 10% of its global annual turnover, which could amount to USD billions. 

More information on the announcement

American multinational corporation and technology company, Apple is expected to open up its tap-and-go technology to rivals in a significant development, a decision which could have implications for both customers and the overall tech industry. The changes that Apple is suggesting are set to address antitrust concerns, and they will apply to both rival mobile wallets, but also iOS users across the EU member countries. 

Apple’s tap-and-go technology was called NFC or near-field communication, and it was developed in order to allow customers to access and benefit from contactless payments with mobile wallets. The European Commission accused Apple of preventing competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet by stopping rival mobile wallet application developers from accessing its tap-and-go technology. 

In addition, the company offered to let rivals access the NFC solution (near-field communication) on its iPhones, iPads, and Apple mobile devices free of charge without the need to leverage Apple Pay or Apple Wallet. These services provided access based on fair and non-discriminatory criteria. The initiative also offered to provide additional functionalities, such as defaulting of preferred payment apps, as well as access to authentication features such as FaceID and a suppression mechanism or set up a dispute settlement mechanism. 

Following this, Apple was required to tweak some of the terms following feedback from rivals and clients, while the NFC proposal would be launched for a period of 10 years. The Commission also aims to access the offer by summer 2024, with May as the likeliest month. The timing and schedule could change as it waits for Apple to work out the final technical details.