EU antitrust regulators accused Apple on Monday of restricting rivals’ access to its NFC chip technology, in a move that could land the iPhone maker a heavy fine and force it to open up its payment system. by mobile to the competitors.

The European Commission said it had sent a statement of objections to Apple, detailing how the company had abused its dominant position in mobile wallet markets on iOS devices.

“We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology needed to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple devices,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

“In our Statement of Objections, we preliminarily find that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own Apple Pay solution,” he said.

Apple said it would continue to work with the Commission.

“Apple Pay is just one of many options available to European consumers for making payments, and has ensured equal access to NFC while setting industry-leading standards for privacy and security,” the company said in a statement. a statement.

The Commission’s decision to send a statement of objections to Apple confirmed a Reuters story from October last year.

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