Apple still makes it too hard for third-party developers to launch alternatives to Apple Pay, despite loosening its grip on access to the NFC chip embedded in iPhones. That’s the claim made by the UK’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The CMA says developers have reported that the compromise terms offered by Apple still don’t make it practical to develop competitors to Apple Pay …

When Apple first started embedding an NFC chip in iPhones to enable contactless payment, only the Apple Wallet app could take advantage of this. Third-party apps could use the NFC chip for other purposes, but not for card payments.

That saw the iPhone maker facing antitrust action in multiple countries around the world. In a number of them, it’s been forced to unlock access to the chip, most notably in the EU.

In EU countries, developers can request an entitlement to get access by proving to Apple that they meet the industry standards and hold the licenses needed to process consumer payments. No fees are payable. Users are then allowed to choose the default wallet app that appears when they double-click the side button or hold their phone near a payment terminal.

In the UK, however, the CMA told Reuters that Apple hasn’t offered developers the same terms.

CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said […] “We have ​heard that high fees, strict terms, and technical restrictions relating to Apple’s contactless technology make it too difficult for challengers to innovate and compete.”

Accordingly, the regulator has opened a public consultation on its proposed loosening of Apple’s grip on the contactless payment chip. Apple has responded by rejecting the proposal, but saying that it will continue to work with the CMA.

“We do ⁠not ​believe the CMA should require Apple to adopt an ​approach with lower privacy and security protections. We will continue to engage constructively to reach an outcome ​that is in the best interest of our users.”

I see this very much like third-party app stores. While I understand Apple’s position, the company is ultimately likely to lose these battles and is showing no sign of skating to where the regulatory puck is headed.

It seems a needless battle given that the commercial risk to Apple is very limited – the vast majority of iPhone owners are exceedingly unlikely to change the defaults for either app store or wallet app when given the choice.

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