EU accuses Apple of violating antitrust laws over payment service



05/03/2022 4:44 AM


The EU accused Apple of abusing its dominant position in the market because of the payment service Apple Pay.



Marco Verch via flickr
The European Union has filed its objections to Apple for possible violation of antitrust laws: the watchdog believes that the company has abused its dominant position in the field of mobile payments. 

Apple is restricting access of the third-party developers to the NFC technology, which is used for contactless payments by the smartphone, and thus is preventing competition for its own solution - the service Apple Pay and the Wallet, Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's Vice President on Digital Technology, said in the report. According to the European Commission, the restriction of competition affects users, limits their choices and slows innovation.

In response to Bloomberg's inquiry, Apple said it would continue working with the European Commission to give European users access to payment options in a safe and secure environment.

If the EU complaint is upheld, Apple will have to pay a hefty fine for violating antitrust regulations, Bloomberg wrote. The fine could amount to as much as 10 percent of global revenue. However, the company has an opportunity to challenge the EU findings in writing and then in court, Bloomberg noted. The investigation into Apple's restrictions on Apple Pay began back in 2020.

source: bloomberg.com


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