In a strategic gambit, Apple opens its tap-and-go payment doors to rivals, seeking an amicable resolution to EU antitrust woes and sidestepping potential billion-dollar fines.

Opening Up Payment Tech

According to reporting from AP, Apple, a tech behemoth that typically plays hard to get, unexpectedly proposed to allow third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers access to the contactless payment function on its iOS operating system. This move, presented as an answer to EU antitrust accusations, is perhaps a temporary truce in an ongoing battle for dominance when it comes to all sorts of Apple-related payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term. As Brussels contemplates the offer, will Apple's offering be enough to appease the regulatory gods and dodge the looming financial guillotine?

Apple is seeking to settle the EU’s antitrust probe into its tap-to-pay tech, with a 10-year offer to allow third-party mobile wallets to access its closely guarded payments chip on iPhones https://t.co/tbcsENLezP

— Bloomberg (@business) January 19, 2024

Tech Diplomacy: Apple's Gesture Amid Antitrust Squabbles

In a regulatory poker game, Apple has tossed its tap-and-go cards onto the table, signaling a willingness to negotiate with EU antitrust enforcers. The proposition? Opening the once-exclusive access to its contactless payment function, a move that might spell peace in the tech battleground. As the EU collects feedback from interested parties, Apple has played a diplomatic card, attempting to avert the impending financial tempest. Breaches of EU competition law can result in fines of up to 10% of a company's annual global revenue, which in this case, could amount to tens of billions.

A Step Further?

Apple also said that through “ongoing discussions” with the EU, it would provide developers of payment, banking and digital wallet Digital Wallet A digital wallet is a popular mechanism referring to an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party.This involves the bartering or exchange of digital currency, including cryptocurrency for goods and services. Money can be deposited in the digital wallet prior to any transaction, which also includes an individual's bank account that is linked to the digital wallet. A digital wallet can include more than just digi A digital wallet is a popular mechanism referring to an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party.This involves the bartering or exchange of digital currency, including cryptocurrency for goods and services. Money can be deposited in the digital wallet prior to any transaction, which also includes an individual's bank account that is linked to the digital wallet. A digital wallet can include more than just digi Read this Term apps with an option for their users to “make NFC contactless payments from within their iOS apps, separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.”