Letter from Piero Cipollone to Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President, on feedback on commitments offered by Apple over access restrictions to near-field communication technology
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Friday, April 19, 2024
Central bank digital currency, Civil service commission, Microsoft, Apple, IPhone, ECB, European Parliament, Opinion, Original equipment manufacturer, Eurosystem, Android (operating system), Tablet, HCE, OJ, Meta, Digital Markets Act, NFC, Commission, Host card emulation, Council, Apple Watch, European Commission, ByteDance, IOS, DMA, European Central Bank, Mobile phone
Finding an
Key Points:
- Finding an
effective response to these concerns would support competition, foster innovation and increase choice for
consumers with mobile wallets on their iPhones. - We note that Apple?s proposed commitments would not give third parties full access to the secure element (SE),
but only allow for the usage of Host Card Emulation (HCE). - Crucially, access to the SE is vital for mobile device based offline digital euro payments.
- 3 4 Therefore, Apple?s
proposed commitments, which do not provide full access to the SE of iOS smart phones, would not facilitate
offline payments with digital euro on iPhones. - We understand that the Commission?s antitrust investigation, and Apple?s proposed commitments on access to
NFC technology, are limited to in-store payments with iOS smart phones. - As a result, the ability of merchants to accept payments with Apple devices other than
through ApplePay might be limited. - I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for other Commission initiatives which have
implications for the European retail payment ecosystem. - 9
An effective implementation of Article 33 on FRAND access to a series of mobile devices is of paramount importance for the offline variant
of the digital euro.