A new era of full unlocking of iPhone NFC functionality
Over the past few years, Apple has been severely restricting the NFC functionality of iPhones, allowing only Apple Pay to be used. This practice undoubtedly deprives consumers of their right to choose and also hinders the innovation and development of the industry. Fortunately, the European Union saw this, and after years of hard work, Apple finally relented. In the latest agreement, Apple has pledged to open up the iPhone's NFC functionality to third-party apps in the European Union, allowing consumers to make contactless payments through other payment apps just like Apple Pay. This will undoubtedly bring new vitality to the NFC payment ecosystem.
The nature and importance of NFC technology
NFC stands for Near Field Communication, which translates to "Near Field Communication" in Chinese. As the name suggests, it is a technology that enables wireless data transmission in close proximity. Unlike wireless transmission methods such as Bluetooth and WiFi, NFC has a transmission distance of only about 10 cm, but the transmission rate is as high as 424Kbit/s, and it has low energy consumption and high security.
With these unique advantages, NFC technology has been widely used in mobile payment, access control cards, electronic tickets and other fields. NFC can be seen everywhere in our daily life: mobile phone payment is used in shopping malls and restaurants; Swipe your mobile phone at the gate of the community to open the door; At the bus subway station, you can take the bus with a "whoosh" of your mobile phone. NFC has been deeply integrated into our lives and has become the standard technology in modern life.
The European Union stepped in to break Apple's monopoly
Apple's tight control over the iPhone's NFC feature has long been controversial. With Apple Pay alone, third-party payment apps can't use NFC technology, which not only deprives consumers of choice, but also stifles industry innovation.
After years of antitrust investigations, the EU finally determined that Apple had monopolistic practices in the mobile payment market and required it to open NFC capabilities to third-party applications. To avoid heavy fines, Apple finally compromised with the EU in March 2024 to allow third-party banking and wallet apps to use NFC technology for contactless payments within their apps.
This tipping point means that EU consumers will no longer be restricted from using Apple Pay only, and they will be free to choose which payment app they use by default. Both local payment apps and international payment giants will have the opportunity to compete in the vast European market.
Infinite possibilities for a new era
For consumers, the lifting of the ban on the iPhone's NFC feature will bring more options. Not only can they use Apple Pay, but they can also install other popular payment apps on their phones, and flexibly switch between them according to the scenario, so as to get the best payment experience.
For third-party payment app developers, the door to the iPhone has finally been opened. With the help of NFC technology, they can provide users with more secure and convenient payment services, and take a share of the competition with Apple Pay. In the future, we will have more innovative payment applications to bring a new payment experience to consumers.
Industry insiders said that the opening of the iPhone NFC function will inject a shot of strength into the European payment market, the industry competition will be more intense, and the pace of innovation will also accelerate. At that time, consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries, and they will enjoy more and better payment options.
Throughout this process, we can see the EU's strong determination to uphold fair competition and protect consumer rights. It was the relentless efforts of the European Union that finally forced Apple to make concessions and open up the iPhone's NFC capabilities.
This will undoubtedly bring new opportunities to the NFC payment market and promote the development of the industry in a more diversified and innovative direction. We have reason to believe that in the new era, NFC payment will usher in a broader development prospect and bring consumers a better service experience. Let's wait and see what the next decade of NFC payments will be.