Antitrust regulators in Europe have charged Apple (AAPL) with restricting rivals’ access to its
NFC chip technology in a move that could force the iPhone maker to open its mobile payment
system to competition.
The European Commission said it had sent a charge sheet known as a “statement of
objections” to Apple, detailing how the company has abused its dominant position in markets for
mobile wallets on iOS devices.
“We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to
develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager
said in a written statement. “We preliminarily found that Apple may have restricted competition,
to the benefit of its own solution Apple Pay.”
Apple said in its own statement that it will continue to engage with the European Commission on
this and other issues.
Apple’s stock is down 13% year to date at $157.65 U.S. per share. Over the past year, the
company’s share price has gained 19%.
