Apple Will Open iPhone NFC Tech To Competitors After EU Antitrust Case

Apple could be about to open up the iPhone’s NFC technology to other companies if a new report by Reuters is accurate.

The report claims that Apple has offered to allow rivals to access the NFC aspect of its devices to allow third-party wallets to be used.

Currently, the NFC payments portion of the iPhone is only compatible with Apple Pay, something that competing companies have long railed against. They claim that gives Apple an unfair advantage and that was something that the EU was looking into. Now, Reuters reports that Apple has offered to open things up in order to avoid any future fines. It was also possible Apple could be forced to make this move if an antitrust investigation didn’t go its way, too.

Apple has offered to let rivals access its tap-and-go mobile payments systems used for mobile wallets, three people familiar with the matter said, a move that could settle EU antitrust charges and stave off a possible hefty fine.

The report says that the European Commission is now likely to seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept Apple’s offer, but so far there has been no official word from any of the parties involved.

Apple Pay currently allows people to make payments using their iPhone so long as those payments use Apple’s payment handling system. However, this change could potentially allow other apps like PayPal to offer similar functionality.

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