EU Accepts Apple's Commitments To Open Up Mobile Payments System To Rivals

(RTTNews) - The European Union antitrust regulators on Thursday accepted commitments made by tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) to open access to its "tap-and-go" payments technology on iPhones to rivals.

"The commission has decided to accept commitments offered by Apple. These commitments address our preliminary concerns that Apple may illegally have restricted competition when it comes to mobile wallets on iPhones," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said during a news conference, according to CNBC.

The European commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Apple's behavior in June 2020.

Apple has yielded to pressure by European regulators to give rivals access to the contactless payments technology on iPhones, meaning that their users will no longer be limited to the Apple Pay mobile wallet.

Apple Pay is Apple's own mobile wallet used to allow iPhone users to pay with their devices in stores and online. Apple's iPhones run exclusively on Apple's operating system 'iOS'.

The tech giant has until July 25 to implement the changes, which will remain in force for 10 years and apply throughout the 30 countries in the European Economic Area.

The Commission concluded that Apple's commitments would address its competition concerns over Apple's restriction of third-party mobile wallet developers' access to NFC payments in stores for EEA iOS users.