Apple may open tap-and-go payments system in EU

Global tech giants, including Apple Inc. and Google LLC, are under pressure to share their exclusive systems that have been behind their market dominance around the world.

Reuters reported Wednesday that Apple has offered to let rivals access its tap-and-go mobile payments system used for mobile wallets in response to EU antitrust charges.

Apple’s tap-and-go payments, based on its Near-Field Communication (NFC), are designed for more convenient purchases.

With the technology, customers can tap their NFC-enabled smartphones at the checkout for easier purchases. Apple allowed only Apple Pay, its own mobile wallet solution on iPhones, to access the NFC platform, preventing rival payment services from using the technology.

The EU competition regulators last year charged Apple with curbing rivals’ access to its tap-and-go technology.

The authority said that this mechanism benefited Apple Pay and helped the company’s market power to grow rapidly in Europe, as Apple Pay is widely used in around 2,500 banks and 250 fintechs in the region.

Apple’s offer to allow rivals access its tap-and-go payment system suggests that its rivals Google Pay and Samsung Pay would be enabled to use the technology.

In a separate case, Google lost an antitrust lawsuit to Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc.

On Monday, a jury trial ruled in favor of Epic Games, proving that Google violated antitrust laws to extract fees from game developers on its Play mobile app store.

Apple and Google usually charge app developers a 15 to 30 percent fee for in-app purchases.

Epic Games, however, tried to bypass these fees by building a payment system that charges users directly for purchases in its hit app Fortnite. In response, Apple and Google booted the game out of its store, triggering the lawsuit.

Apple defeated Epic Games in both trials. However, in the lawsuit against Google, the game maker won a victory.