The EU has agreed to accept Apple’s proposal to provide developers “with free access to its NFC technology on iOS devices and without having to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet”, the Financial Times reports.

The move follows a proposal of commitments made by Apple to the European Commission in January. This included an offer to provide a new set of APIs that approved developers would be able to use to provide a host card emulation-based alternative to Apple Pay.

“The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, charged the iPhone-maker in 2022 with breaking competition law,” the Financial Times explains.

“Brussels regulators had argued the tech company was preventing competitors from accessing ‘tap-and-go’ chips or near-field communication (NFC) to benefit its own Apple Pay system.

“But three people familiar with the matter said that regulators had accepted a number of measures that Apple had committed to in January this year.

“These include providing developers with free access to its NFC technology on iOS devices and without having to use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet. Brussels officials have been testing these measures, which Apple has offered to keep in place for a decade.

“Apple was still ironing out final technical details but a settlement was likely in the next few weeks, said the three people with knowledge of the matter.”

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