Apple offers to open up iPhone tap-to-pay tech in bid to avoid massive EU fines 

The move follows EU warnings that restricting access to the technology amounted to an abuse of Apple's market power

Apple faces a hefty fine and a ban on App Store rules it allegedly used to thwart music-streaming rivals, in another round of EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on Big Tech.

Apple has vowed to open up its coveted tap-to-pay technology on iPhones to rivals in a bid to sidestep potentially massive European Union competition fines.

The European Commission said the US tech giant has pitched a 10-year offer to give other “mobile wallet” providers access to its closely guarded payments chip on Apple devices. 

It follows EU warnings that restricting access to the technology amounted to an abuse of its market power.  The EU said it’s now seeking feedback from Apple rivals on the proposed deal. 

Apple’s digital wallet solution allows consumers to store virtual debit and credit cards on iPhones, in addition to ticket bookings. Its tap-to-pay tech, the near-field communication, or NFC, chip, allows payments to be processed via a card reader at a cash register. 

Apple’s EU offer would allow third-party developers “an option that will enable their users to make contactless payments from within their iOS apps”, according to a spokesperson. 

Apple Pay will continue to be a broadly available option. 

Apple has maintained strong restrictions on access to the NFC antenna, setting standards for rival payment providers, which those competitors claim violates the EU’s competition rules.

Apple faces a potentially hefty fine as well as a ban on App Store rules it allegedly used to thwart music-streaming rivals, in another round of the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crackdown on Big Tech. 

Apple has also been ordered to pay back to the Irish Government €13bn of allegedly unfair tax breaks — though that decision is still being fought over at the EU's top court. 

Meanwhile, Amazon's proposed $1.4bn (€1.3bn) acquisition of Roomba vacuum maker maker iRobot is expected to be blocked by the EU regulator over concerns that the deal will harm other robot vacuum makers. Amazon was told the deal was likely to be rejected at a meeting next week with officials from the Commission, sources said.

 Bloomberg