The European Union says it is accepting Apple’s pledge to open up its “tap-to-pay” iPhone payment system to rivals as a way to resolve an antitrust case and head off a hefty fine.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said on Thursday that it is accepting the commitments that Apple offered earlier this year and will make them legally binding.
The Commission had previously accused Apple of abusing its dominant position by limiting access to its mobile payment technology.
Apple responded by proposing in January to allow third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers access to the contactless payment function in its iOS operating system.
After Apple tweaked its proposals following testing and feedback, the Commission said it “concluded that Apple’s final commitments would address its competition concerns”.
The changes that Apple is making are to remain in force for a decade and apply throughout the bloc’s 27 countries plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and will be monitored by a trustee.
Apple said in a statement that it is providing European developers with the option to enable contactless payments and transactions for a range of applications, while its Apple Pay and Apple Wallet will continue to be available for users and developers.