Apple is not known for opening its systems too much. We saw it when the iPod was launched, many complained about the need to use iTunes to transfer music to Apple's "mp3" player, but it was accentuated with the launch of the iPhone. Many have demanded an iOS more open to changes, and Apple little by little has been opening what has interested it. The App Store is the clear example that Apple is not going to go through the hoop, an application store in the spotlight by international competitiveness organizations. And today for what the European Union has taken notice of Apple's NFC. They plan to sue the company to open it up to third parties. Keep reading that we give you all the details of this possible lawsuit.
The news has been leaked from Reuters. The European Union with Margrethe Vestager at the head would be investigating the operation of Apple Pay and specifically the NFC chip of Apple devices that can currently only be used for Apple Pay. It is not entirely true since it can interact with other NFC chips but as a reader, as a sender it is true that it is only compatible with Apple Pay. Obviously this makes anyone who wants to use it has to go through Apple, something that we see for example with transport cards. They plan to gather all the information necessary to send Apple their lawsuit next year.
Of course, today there are a thousand ways to get around Apple's limitations. And yes, we have to use the Apple Wallet but we don't necessarily have to store our cards via Apple Pay. More and more are used QR codes (who would have thought), and there are other payment services that allow us to leave the card with the QR code in Wallet to use it when paying without the use of Apple Pay, something similar to what we see with COVID vaccination certificates. We will see what happens with the EU demand and if Apple ends up giving in ...