On Tuesday, the UK's competition regulator said it intends to loosen Apple's control over the contactless payments market. In particular, it proposes that the company reduce fees and remove technical barriers, allowing competing services to compete with Apple Pay, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said these proposals would lead to a "significant reduction in access fees" and make it easier to use Apple's contactless technology, opening the market to competition from digital banks and other service providers.
The proposed measures are less stringent than those introduced by the European Union in 2024 (in particular, the requirement to provide developers of third-party digital wallets with free access). According to the CMA, since then companies such as Vipps, PayPal, Klarna, Curve and BBVA have already launched their own alternative payment apps.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said the proposals would foster innovation, expand consumer choice and strengthen the UK's important financial technology (fintech) sector.
"We have received information indicating that the high fees, stringent terms and technical restrictions associated with Apple's contactless technology make it unnecessarily difficult for other market participants to introduce innovations and compete," she said.
"By removing barriers to market entry, we can create conditions in which promising British companies with bold ideas can develop new products and services — from payment apps and digital IDs to travel tickets and digital keys."
The CMA is holding a public consultation on these proposals until November 17, after which a final decision will be made.
According to the CMA, the popularity of contactless payments is growing rapidly: they now account for 39% of all payments, compared with just 3% ten years ago. In addition, more than 60% of adults use digital wallets, with Apple Wallet being the most popular in the UK.
In addition
Apple said it had already provided developers with the ability to implement contactless payments in their apps using NFC technology (which allows an iPhone to interact with a payment terminal or reader) and a dedicated secure module (Secure Element), where confidential data such as card details and cryptographic keys are stored. The company said this had enabled developers to create products and services — including those for making payments in stores, paying for public transport and purchasing tickets to events — while ensuring that users' confidential data remained protected in accordance with the highest security standards.
"We believe that the CMA should not require Apple to adopt an approach that provides a lower level of privacy and security protection," an Apple representative said.
"We will continue to engage constructively to achieve an outcome that best serves the interests of our users."