Apple could soon come under fire from the European Union for alleged anti-competitive behavior. Specifically, the Apple Pay monopoly on the EU's iPhone is a thorn in its side. The EU could possibly force Apple to make the NFC interface in the iPhone available to other payment service providers.

As the Financial Times (via 9to5Mac ) reports, Apple could receive a complaint from the EU as early as next week. According to the European Union, promoting Apple Pay and restricting other payment services on the iPhone is unfair monopolization. Apple's complaint about this doesn't come out of the blue. As early as October 2021 there were reports (see 9to5Mac ) that the EU might want to force Apple to open the NFC interface.

Third-party providers have limited access to NFC

Currently, when paying with the iPhone, users can only use Apple Pay for contactless transactions via NFC. Access to the NFC interface is severely restricted for third-party apps. Essential NFC modes required for mobile payments are completely blocked for app developers. And other NFC uses are also severely restricted in some cases, since Apple prevents apps with NFC permissions from running in the foreground.

As 9to5Mac reports, since iOS 12 Apple has allowed at least the use of some background features of NFC. But that's not enough for developers to be able to offer a user experience like Apple Pay.

Apple defends NFC restriction by protecting users

Apple has repeatedly had to justify the restrictions on access to NFC. The company justifies the restricted access to the interface with the protection of user data from misuse and invasion of privacy.

Furthermore, it is not the first monopoly complaint that Apple has had to listen to from the EU Commission. As early as April 2021, the Commission claimed that Apple preferred Apple Music to other music streaming services in the App Store, thereby violating competition law.