The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets announced on Friday the start of an investigation into payment apps and NFC (via Bloomberg).
Contactless NFC Payments
Apple wasn’t mentioned by name but the Dutch regulator mentioned concerns of ““the software on some smartphones only allows the software developer’s own payment app to connect to NFC communication.”
Apple restricts contactless payments made with NFC on Apple Watch and iPhone to its own Apple Pay service. In 2017 banks in Australia were unhappy about this. The Netherlands Authority is concerned if such restrictions limit peoples’ freedom of choice. The EU is also considering legislation that could force Apple to open NFC to third-party apps.