European Commission rules Apple Pay anticompetitive in hearing

An employee uses an Apple iPhone to demonstrate to reporters how to pay using the Apple Pay service at an Apple store in Beijing, China, February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

The European Commission said that it has informed Apple of its preliminary findings from a hearing to determine whether its practices with Apple Pay were anticompetitive in nature.

In a press release, The commission said that Apple abused its dominant position in the mobile payment market for iOS, by limiting access to Near Field Communication (NFC) for other payment apps. NFC is required for contactless payment.

Also Read: Apple extends appeal time for abandoned app notices

It said that by doing so, Apple restricts competition in the mobile wallet space on iOS, to the benefit of its payment system, Apple Pay.

“Mobile payments play a rapidly growing role in our digital economy," said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy at the commission.

"We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple's devices. In our Statement of Objections, we preliminarily found that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own solution Apple Pay. If confirmed, such a conduct would be illegal under our competition rules,” Vestager added.

Also Read: Apple beats sales estimates with big bumps in iPhones, services

The commission went on to say that Apple's iPhones, iPads and software form a closed ecosystem, and the Cupertino technology giant controls every aspect of it, including limiting the access of NFC to third-party developers.

As it currently stands, only Apple Pay has the necessary permissions required to access NFC on its devices. The commission says that this, "has an exclusionary effect on competitors and leads to less innovation, and less choice for consumers on mobile wallets for Apple devices.