For those who don’t know, Apple has been in a constant fight with the authorities Europewell first they had to adjust the mini USB connectors to the iPhonethis was to make it easier to replace the charging cable with a cheaper one compared to the original ones. And now, users are looking for the NFC to be opened, and everything indicates that customers have managed to get their demands reflected.
The conflict began in 2020, when the European Commission investigated Manzana for restricting the use of the NFC chip of the iPhone exclusively to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. In response, Apple announced earlier this year that it would allow third-party digital wallets and banking apps to use the chip, thereby complying with the Digital Markets Act.
The European Commission requested third-party comments on the announcements of Manzanawhich led the company to expand its commitments to ensure a fair opening of the NFC. iPhoneThe commitments are now legally binding under European Union antitrust rules.
1.- Opening of NFC to third parties: Apple will allow use of the chip in Host Card Emulation (HCE) mode at no cost for 10 years.
2.- Elimination of restrictions: Apple has removed the requirement for developers to have a payment service provider license or a binding agreement with one to access NFC.
3.- Flexibility for developers: Developers will be able to pre-create payment applications and combine the HCE mode payments feature with other features of the iPhone’s NFC chip.
Margrethe Vestager, Vice President for European Competition Policy, stressed that this decision will foster competition in the mobile payments sector, allowing more players to enter the market and offering users more payment options. Opening up the iPhone NFC is a crucial step to prevent Apple from excluding other mobile wallets from the iPhone ecosystem.
These commitments ensure that it will be available to third parties free of charge and with flexibility for 10 years, promoting fairer competition and innovation in the mobile payments sector.
Via: EC Europe
Author’s note: These technologies are becoming more and more complex, but at least an agreement has been reached that will last for the distant 10 years.
#Apple #open #NFC #iPhones #avoid #multimillion #dollar #fine