For four years, Apple has been making its case to the EU that it is not monopolising the payments and technology markets by restricting who can use its tech. In order not to face heavy fines, Apple has allowed its rivals access to its tap-and-go payments technology through its NFC chip, free of charge. But how impactful will this be on the payments market and what consequences might Apple face as a result?


A diversifyed market

By releasing its NFC chip to the world, Apple is giving fintechs the building blocks to create new and innovative solutions. These in turn, could greatly diversify the payments market.

Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at Bitpace

Commenting on this Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at Bitpace, the cryptocurrency payment gateway said: “The Apple brand obviously has huge customer loyalty and a seamless ecosystem, so other card issuers are in a sense playing catch up. This development may make the challenge even tougher and, on the surface, seem to hinder progression of a democratised market.

“But innovating user-friendly tap-and-go payment solutions aren’t exclusive to the capabilities of Apple. Other card issuers should now be encouraged to make their own advances with a competitive spirit. If they do, the benefits could be huge in terms of diversifying the market and lowering user costs across the board.

“Apple’s announcement opens the door for exciting developments in the space for sure. Contactless transit payments, secure access control, and even broader IoT applications could evolve and truly transform the payments landscape in ways we haven’t seen before.”