Vipps Asks EU Antitrust Regulators Force Apple to Grant Unrestricted Access to NFC Technology

Vipps asks Apple to release NFC technology. (photo: dock. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Mobile payment app from Norway, Vipps, is asking the European Union (EU) antitrust regulator to force Apple to grant access to its tap-and-go technology without restrictions so that other companies can be more competitive. The request came from the CEO of Vipps, Rune Garborg.

Garborg's remarks come a day after Apple made a last-ditch effort to convince EU antitrust regulators that the company was not blocking a competitor's access to technology used for mobile wallets during a closed session.

Vipps is a third party in the trial. Vipps, which is owned by a consortium of Norwegian banks and joined forces with Danish company MobilePay last year, said the issue was important because of Apple's popularity in the Nordic region and increased use of mobile payments, which are powered by nearfield communication (NFC) technology.

"This is very important to us. Seventy-eight percent of card transactions in Norway are done through terminals. That's why NFC is very important, especially among young people," Garborg told Reuters.

"Apple only shares NFC with banks, who have to pay to install their cards in Apple Pay. But for us as wallets, we don't have open access to NFC," he said.

Vipps said NFC access will increase the geographic reach of its mobile wallet, facilitate product innovation and enable better cross-border transactions. Apple has yet to comment.

The US Cupertino-based company previously said that Apple Pay is one of the options available to European consumers and that it has ensured equal access to its technology. Vipps says it has tried several alternatives to NFC but they are difficult to use and uncompetitive.