The European Commission has informed Apple of its “preliminary view” that Apple Pay has abused its dominant position in markets by limiting mobile wallet competitors on iOS devices.
Apple has recently decided to prevent mobile wallet app developers from accessing standard “Near-Field Communication” (NFC) “tap and go” technology, therefore restricting competition in the market on iOS.
European Commission executive vice president, Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy said: “Mobile payments play 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.”
“We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices. In our Statement of Objections, we found that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own solution Apple Pay. If confirmed, such a conduct would be illegal under our competition rules.”
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The “statement of objections” also included claims that Apple’s iPhones, iPads and software form a “closed ecosystem” of which Apple controls every aspect of the user experience, including third-party wallet developers’ access to it. The technology firm actively reserves access to NFC technology to Apple Pay.
“This has an exclusionary effect on competitors and leads to less innovation and less choice for consumers for mobile wallets on iPhones,” the Commission added.
“If confirmed, this conduct would infringe Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) that prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.”
Apple is due to be informed of the Commission’s concerns and will have the opportunity to examine the objection documents, reply in writing and then request an oral hearing to present its comments on the case before national competition authorities.
The European Commission concluded: “There is no legal deadlines for bringing an antitrust investigation to an end. The duration of an antitrust investigation depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned cooperate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.”
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