UK Regulator Proposes Opening iPhone NFC to Rivals, Cutting Apple's Fees

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country's competition regulator, has proposed requiring Apple to open iPhone contactless-payment access to rival wallets and substantially reduce its related fees. The CMA says Apple's charges and rules impede innovation and growth among British fintech firms. Under the proposal, competing wallets would be able to use the iPhone's NFC capability through widely used international contactless standards. The CMA would establish principles for access fees rather than set a specific price. Contactless payments account for 39% of transactions in the U.K., where Apple Wallet is the most-used wallet. No company has launched a competing wallet product in Britain, unlike in the European Union. The proposal ties a technical question—who can use the iPhone's NFC contactless function—to the commercial question of what access costs.

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