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Apple will open the contactless payments technology on its iPhone to third-party developers in multiple countries, following regulatory pressure from authorities in the US and EU.
Developers will have access to Apple’s NFC chip, which powers its tap-to-pay features, in the beta version of its new operating system, iOS 18.1, in the US and the UK, Apple announced in a blog post on Wednesday.
The feature will also be made available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and New Zealand, “with additional locations to follow”, Apple said.
Currently, only Apple’s own apps have access to the NFC chip, the technology behind Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Apple takes a cut from credit card purchases made through the tap-and-pay feature on the device.
Apple has previously argued that restricting NFC chip access to its own wallet service protects users’ security.
To access the software to use the chip, developers will have to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, commit to its security and privacy rules and pay “associated fees”. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fees.
The decision comes after the iPhone-maker agreed to open up access to the NFC chip in the EU in a settlement with the bloc’s antitrust regulator in June over its restrictions on access to the chip.
Last week the company offered further concessions to the EU regulator in a separate regulatory probe into its App Store rules, tweaking how it will allow developers to steer customers outside of their apps to make payments.
The issue around the NFC chip also surfaced in a sweeping antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Apple in March, which broadly accused it of illegally maintaining a smartphone monopoly. Among its allegations, the DoJ said Apple is illegally blocking other payment providers that could offer alternatives to Apple Wallet. Apple charges card issuers 0.15 per cent on every card transaction made through Apple Pay, the DoJ said.
It cited a US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report that estimated that Apple Pay facilitated $200bn in transactions in the US in 2022.
While the company does not break out how much it makes from financial services, revenue in its services division — which includes Apple Pay — has registered sustained double-digit growth, and reached a new all-time high during the past quarter.
Its move into the payments space has not been entirely smooth. Apple is in the process of winding down its credit card and savings account partnership with Goldman Sachs. Earlier this year Apple also announced it was scrapping its “buy now, pay later” service just a year after launch in the US.
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