Apple’s tap-and-go mobile payment systems have been successful in Western countries. The services were on halt in the EU for policy reasons. However, after being approved by the EU antitrust regulators, the feature will be enabled in all Apple devices sold in the region.
From next month, people can leverage the benefits of the tap-and-go features on their iPhones. Apple’s bid was settled after four years of investigation. If the company had failed to convey the services to the rule makers, it might have ended up paying a hefty fine of about 10% of its global annual turnover to the government.
Apple’s tap-and-go technology has been introduced to allow people to make payments for their purchases seamlessly. It is called near-field communication (NFC) because the NFC technology allows you to make the payment through your wallet contactless. Tap your phone on the payment device, and your payment will be transferred to the seller. It adds more convenience, as you can save time finding cash or paying through a credit card. Money transfer is smooth and allows you to move quickly while on the go.
Apple came under the European Commission’s scrutiny two years ago because it was accused of thwarting competition. Several other companies offer similar tap-and-go payment features. However, these companies have claimed that Apple is preventing its rivals from using these features. Users are forced to use Apple’s built-in tap-and-go payment features.
After the issues were identified, Apple opened the doors for rivals by allowing them to access its NFC technology on iPhones, iPads, and all other Apple software-powered mobile devices free of charge. However, they have added the condition of fair and non-discriminatory criteria to their peer competitors in the category.
Moreover, Apple also gave the competitors added benefits, such as a default setting option for the payment apps. The apps can access the authentication features linked to the FaceID and support mechanism. With that, a separate dispute settlement mechanism is added to the system.
Apple was also asked to change some of the terms after receiving feedback from its rivals and customers. Currently, the NFC proposal is set to last for ten years. The commission is scheduled to accept the offers by this summer. The month of May is likely when the final decision will be made. Apple’s legal team is working on making the final decision on the technical parts of the services. Apple may have concerns that need to be addressed before it gives access to its rivals regarding its platform and facilities.
Apple’s GoWallet system is a vital facility that every competitor wants to pioneer. Because it gives access to the customer’s transaction data, based on the information, you can better understand the customer’s life and use these data to manipulate the users. Therefore, Apple is taking measures to secure customers’ data and prevent third-party applications from accessing vital information, which affects users’ personal and financial conditions.
Apple has already been sanctioned by the EU for thwarting competition from Spotify. The fight between the music streaming rivals was triggered when Apple imposed restrictions on their app stores. The EU government sanctioned a fine of 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion).
Apple has a very stringent policy regarding securing customers’ data. The company has constantly restricted some of the big apps listed on the app store from accessing users’ vital information. Some decisions take many months, preventing app companies from expanding their business and causing millions of dollars of loss.
Therefore, several private companies that face trouble from Apple have been criticizing the company for its fair usage policies. The problem with Apple Tap in Go is the information these rival companies get when the user completes their payment process.
Since digital payments have become common in society, many companies are trying to enter the payment industry, where they will have access to the customer’s payment information. Because the customer’s transaction details tell the person’s financial condition, based on information collected by these companies, they can manipulate the customer by offering them lucrative products and bonuses, and the loop keeps going. Ultimately, the companies are looking for the customer’s transaction data. Once you have it, you can sell anything to the users.
Apple has noticed the threat and implies restrictions on these companies until they come up with a better solution to fix this. However, the rival companies are winning after the EU government interfered. Apple has no choice but to allow third-party applications to use the wallet features.
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